Vegetable Tempura Bento

I had a single sweet potato I bought for sweet potato rice porridge (my youngest is getting over a virus right now and very picky about what she eats–but she loves sweet potatoes.) I also had some zucchini, red onions, as well as a bag of shredded carrots, so I decided to do a more traditional bento today.

Vegetable tempura with a side salad and rice. Some tamago and frankfurter crabs with peas for decoration.

I have been doing tempura at least once a week, since it’s a great way to make sure my kids eat their veggies. The batter is a very light coating. The trick to making it extra crispy is to have the batter very cold (I will put ice cubes in it). This batter can be used for any type of tempura!

Ingredients for Tempura Batter

• 1 egg
• 1 cup ice water (I put ice cubes in it)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or 1⁄2 cup tempura flour

Vegetables:

• Sweet potato, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Broccoli floret
• Onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick.

Other Ingredients:

• Corn or sweet potato starch
• Vegetable oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan in one inch of oil.

Tempura Tsuyu Recipe:

• 1 cup dashi stock
• 1⁄4 cup mirin
• 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
• 1⁄2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pinch of ginger powder or grated ginger, less than a quarter teaspoon

1. Whisk egg until light and frothy. Then add flour and baking soda and mix until just combined.
2. Heat vegetable oil on medium high heat, careful not to burn. If the oil smokes, the color will be dark and burned looking. The oil will be hot enough when you drop a bit of the batter and it begins sizzling.
3. Coat the vegetables in a thin layer of corn or sweet potato starch (this helps the batter cling to the vegetable and not slide off in the oil.) Dip the coated vegetables in the batter and place into the hot oil. Fry on both sides until golden. Serve with tempura tsuyu (combine all the tsuyu ingredients in a saucepan, heat until the alcohol from the mirin has just evaporated. Serve with grated daikon.)