Recipes

Tempura asparagus

Crisp and light, this tempura asparagus is an easy way of quickly cooking vegetables. The trick? A spoonful of mayonnaise in the batter. It may sound unusual, but the fat helps the batter fry beautifully, giving you that delicate, crunchy batter every time.

Serves

4 as a snack or side

Ingredients

2 bunches asparagus, woody ends trimmed
100g cornflour, plus extra for dusting
100g self-raising flour
150ml very cold water
2 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise, or any full-fat mayonnaise
Salt, to season
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying

Method

Prepare the asparagus

Wash and trim the asparagus. There’s no need to blanch, roast or pre-cook it. The tempura batter creates a crisp crust around the vegetable, allowing the steam inside to cook it gently as it fries.
Make the tempura batter

In a bowl, mix the cornflour and self-raising flour together. Add the cold water and mayonnaise, then stir until just combined. Don’t worry if the batter is slightly lumpy as over mixing can make it heavy.
Heat the oil

Pour enough vegetable oil into a pan for shallow frying and heat to 180°C.
Season and dust the asparagus

Lightly season the asparagus with salt. This helps draw out a little moisture, making the flour stick better. Dust the asparagus in a little extra cornflour, shaking off any excess.
Dip and fry

Dip the asparagus into the tempura batter, then carefully place into the hot oil. Fry in batches so the pan doesn’t become overcrowded.
Turn for even crispiness

Give the asparagus a gentle stir or turn while frying. This helps release any trapped air bubbles between the batter and the vegetable, so the tempura cooks evenly and crisps all over.
Drain and season

Once golden and crisp, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Season with a little more salt while still hot.
Serve immediately

Tempura is best served straight away while the batter is crisp.

Chef’s tip

You can use this recipe to quickly cook many different vegetables. Tenderstem broccoli, courgette, mushrooms and peppers all work well. The key is to keep the vegetables raw, the water cold and the oil hot. The tempura batter coating will steam the vegetables as they’re frying.