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–+ servings

Shiso Tempura 3 Ways (Crispy Fried Perilla Leaves)

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients 
 

Tempura Batter (see note)

Serving suggestion (optional)

Instructions 

  • Before you start, chill all of the tempura ingredients thoroughly, including the dry ingredients.
    While you wait, gently wash 15 perilla leaves (shiso) in a bowl of cold water, pat dry with kitchen paper, and cut off the stems.
    Ooba leaves with the stems cut off on a wooden chopping board on a white background
  • Heat your cooking oil to 170 °C (338 °F).
    heating oil in a pot to make tempura
  • When the oil is almost ready, take a mixing bowl and add 75 ml cold water, 50 ml carbonated water and 1 egg yolk straight from the fridge. Whisk gently until combined.
    whisking egg yolk and chilled water in a bowl to make tempura batter
  • Mix 15 g cornstarch and 75 g unbleached cake flour together in a small bowl, then add it to the egg mixture in 3 batches. Rather than whisking, use chopsticks to draw crosses in the mixture until there is no more dry flour. Lumps are perfectly okay, do not over mix.
    egg, water and flour in a bowl, drawing crosses in the mixture with chopsticks to make tempura batter
  • If you are making multiple batches or the environment is warm, add a few ice cubes to the batter.
    tempura batter in a bowl with ice cubes

Single-Sided Perilla Leaf Tempura

  • Brush the backs of each leaf with a thin layer of cake flour, use a pastry brush for even covering.
    Brushing one side on an ooba (shiso/perilla) leaf with flour to help tempura batter stick
  • Once the oil is hot, press the floured side of each leaf onto the surface of the tempura batter, then place it in the oil with the batter side facing down and fry for 45-60 seconds or until the bubbles have quieten down.
    Coating one side of a Perilla leaf with tempura batter
  • Flip and fry the unbattered side for 15 seconds, then transfer to a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
    removing ooba tempura from pot of oil using red cooking chopsticks

Stacked Perilla Leaf Tempura

  • Brush both sides of each shiso leaf with a thin layer of cake flour.
    brushing both sides of a Perilla leaf with flour to help tempura batter stick to the surface
  • Place one leaf on top of the tempura batter to coat one side, then place another leaf on top, using the batter as a glue. Repeat once more until you have 3 in one stack.
    sticking two perilla leaves together using tempura batter to make stacked ooba tempura
  • Dip the whole stack in the batter and then place it straight in the oil. Fry for 45-60 seconds on each side, and then transfer to a wire rack for a few minutes to drain excess oil.
    dipping stacked perilla leaves in tempura batter ready for deep frying

Rolled Perilla Leaf Tempura

  • Roll the shiso leaves from bottom to top (wide side to tip). Pierce a toothpick through the middle to hold the roll in place.
    3 rolled perilla leaves on toothpicks on a wooden chopping board for tempura
  • Use a pastry brush to coat thoroughly with cake flour, getting into all the crevices.
    Brushing rolled shiso/perilla leaves with flour to help tempura batter stick
  • Dip each roll in the batter and place them in the oil with the toothpicks still inside. Fry for 45-60 seconds on each side.
    rolled ooba tempura frying in a Japanese tempura pot filled with oil
  • Rest on a wire rack for a few minutes to drain the excess oil.
    3 types of ooba tempura (shiso/Perilla leaf) on a wire rack to drain off excess oil
  • Serve with salt for dipping. Enjoy!
    Three flat and three rolled ooba (shiso) tempura made with Perilla leaves on a brown/purple plate on a wooden background

Notes

Avoid bleached cake flour: Avoid bleached or chlorinated cake flour as it changes the texture. For UK/AU readers, plain flour works.
Dry the leaf before the flour: Press washed leaves between kitchen paper until no water is left, then dust the back thinly. Surface water flashes to steam in the oil, prying the batter off the leaf and throwing oil out of the pot.
Mix the batter last and leave the lumps: Stop while small lumps still dot the bowl. Once it turns smooth all through you have overmixed, and there is no fixing it after frying. Batter that sits after mixing ends up in the same place.
Hold 170°C (338°F) and pull it before it colors: Lift the leaf while the batter is pale gold and green still shows. Wait for brown and the water and the aroma are already gone, leaving bitterness. Read the bubbles quieting rather than the clock.
For leftover batter: This recipe is likely to have leftover tempura batter. Leftovers can be used for other ingredients such as shrimp, eggplant, sweet potato etc. You can also make your own tenkasu (tempura flakes) to serve with udon and soba.