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–+ servings

Eggless Vegetable Tempura (Shojin Age with Matcha Salt)

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

Ingredients 
 

Shojin Age Tempura Batter

  • 175 ml water chilled
  • 60 ml carbonated water chilled
  • 95 g cake flour plus extra for dusting
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 15 ml rice vinegar
  • 3 ice cubes
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • cooking oil for deep frying

Vegetable Suggestions

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

Matcha Salt

  • ½ tbsp salt
  • ½ tsp matcha powder

Instructions 

  • Start by chilling 175 ml water and 60 ml carbonated water (preferably unopened) in the refrigerator. Measure 95 g cake flour and 30 g cornstarch into a bowl and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
    cake flour and starch in a steel mixing bowl
  • In the meantime, wash, dry, and cut your vegetables according to the ingredients list.
    lotus roots, bamboo shoots, two king oyster mushrooms, a sweet potato and asparagus cut and arranged on a wooden chopping board
  • Once your batter ingredients are thoroughly chilled, start heating your cooking oil to 170 °C (338 °F) to 180 °C (356 °F). While it's heating, pour the water and sparkling water into a bowl, then add 15 ml rice vinegar and 3 ice cubes.
    pouring vinegar into chilled water to make eggless tempura batter
  • Pour the cake flour, cornstarch and ½ tsp baking powder into a sifter, then sift it into the water one-third at a time, gently mixing by drawing crosses with chopsticks.
    sifting cake flour and starch into bowl of chilled water to make eggless tempura batter for shojin age
  • The batter is ready once there is no more dry flour. Be careful not to overmix, tempura batter should be a bit lumpy (not smooth).
    mixing eggless tempura batter for shojin age in a steel mixing bowl
  • Once your oil is hot, dust your ingredients with cake flour and dip them in the batter before placing them straight into the oil.
    coating asparagus stalks in a dusting of flour before coating with eggless tempura batter to make shojin age
  • Cook each type of ingredient in separate batches for even cooking. Most vegetables take 2-3 minutes, root vegetables will take 2-4 depending on thickness. Leaves (like perilla) and nori will take about 30 seconds.
    asparagus tempura made with eggless batter deep frying in a pot of oil
  • Once light and crispy, transfer to a wire rack to drain the 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
  • Take a small bowl and sift in ½ tsp matcha powder. Add ½ tbsp salt and mix well to make the matcha salt for dipping.
    sifting matcha into a glass bowl
  • Serve immediately and enjoy!
    dipping sweet potato eggless tempura in matcha salt