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–+ servings

Eggless Tempura Batter (Vegan Shojin Age)

Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Batter

  • 150 ml water chilled
  • 60 ml carbonated water chilled
  • 100 g unbleached cake flour or pastry flour, low-protein, around 7-8%, plus a little extra for dusting
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 3 ice cubes
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • cooking oil for frying

Vegetable ideas

  • 1 Japanese sweet potato (satsumaimo) cut into thick rounds
  • 1 king oyster mushroom (eryngii) quartered lengthwise
  • 6 asparagus halved
  • 100 g bamboo shoots boiled and sliced lengthwise
  • 8 lotus root (renkon) sliced

Matcha salt

  • ½ tsp matcha powder
  • ½ tbsp salt

Instructions 

  • Chill 150 ml water and 60 ml carbonated water in the fridge. Add 100 g unbleached cake flour and 30 g cornstarch to a bowl and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
    cake flour and starch in a steel mixing bowl
  • Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces and pat them thoroughly dry.
    lotus roots, bamboo shoots, two king oyster mushrooms, a sweet potato and asparagus cut and arranged on a wooden chopping board
  • Sift ½ tsp matcha powder into a bowl and mix with ½ tbsp salt to make the matcha salt.
    sifting matcha into a ceramic bowl
  • Heat the frying oil to 170 °C (338 °F) to 180 °C (356 °F).
  • Combine the chilled water and carbonated water, then add 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 3 ice cubes.
    pouring vinegar into chilled water to make eggless tempura batter
  • Sift the cake flour, cornstarch, and ½ tsp baking powder together, add to the water in 3 additions, and mix with chopsticks in a cross motion. Stop when the dry streaks disappear.
    mixing eggless tempura batter for shojin age in a steel mixing bowl
  • Dust the vegetables thinly with cake flour and tap off the excess.
    coating asparagus stalks in a dusting of flour before coating with eggless tempura batter to make shojin age
  • Dip the pieces in the batter and lower them into the 170 °C (338 °F) to 180 °C (356 °F) oil. Do not overcrowd the pot.
    asparagus tempura made with eggless batter deep frying in a pot of oil
  • Fry by type. Most vegetables take 2 to 3 minutes, root vegetables 2 to 4 minutes, and leafy pieces or nori about 30 seconds.
  • When lightly colored and crisp, lift onto a rack and rest briefly to drain excess oil.
    Shojin age (vegetable tempura with eggless batter) made with lotus roots, asparagus, king oyster mushrooms, bamboo shoots and sweet potatoes on a wire rack
  • Serve hot with matcha salt. Enjoy!
    dipping sweet potato eggless tempura in matcha salt

Notes

Flour matters: Avoid bleached or chlorinated cake flour, as it changes the texture and fries heavy. For UK and AU readers, plain flour works. See my flour guide for details.
Read the viscosity and adjust: Check the consistency before and during frying. If it feels thin, add more cake flour, and if it feels thick, add ice or cold water. Miss it and the coat turns slack.
Keep the batter cold and mix it last: Chill the flour and water separately, then mix minimally right before frying. Over-mixing or letting it stand builds gluten and a heavy coat.
Pat the pieces dry, then dust: A wet surface lets the coat slide off and causes oil spatter. Pat dry, then dust on a thin layer of cake flour.