carrots, cut into thin sticks (i.e. 1½ inches long)
onions, sliced
green pepper, cut into rings or any way you want
eggplant, thinly sliced
broccoli, medium size florets
cauliflower, medium size florets
green onions
zucchini, thinly sliced
sweet potatoes thinly sliced
mushrooms, halved, or whole if small
green beans, halved lengthwise, or whole
asparagus, bite-sized (deep-fry 3 or 4 sticks together)
Things to fry that we haven't tried:
butternut squash, bite-sized thin slices
okra, halved lengthwise
snow pea pods, whole
cod, bite-sized
shrimp, peeled, whole.
Instructions
For the batter:
Using cold water (about 40F) is a must. This keeps the batter from becoming sticky. When you add the flour, whisk quickly just to mix it in evenly. Sticky batter (or over mixed batter) results in oily tempura.
Beat the egg and mix with water. Add flour and whisk quickly.
For the frying
It seems very hard to learn the knack of tempura frying. With a little help, though, tempura deep-frying can be so simple that you will want to show off to your friends. The main ingredients are vegetables and fish of your choosing. There are a few points that you have to remember: 1) slice the vegetables thin so they can be fried in a short time; 2) you will need a deep, thick-walled pan (a wok is OK) filled about 1 inch deep with peanut oil** (try other types of oil if you like, but never add lard or shortening); 3) deep-fry in small batches so you can maintain the temperature of the oil; and finally 4) tempura-fry vegetables at about 340F and fish at 360F.n ** I have always only used vegetable oil.
Heat the oil to 340F or 360F. Dip the vegetables or fish in the batter and place them in the oil. If it is difficult to handle the vegetable chunks, you may use a tablespoon to drop them in. Do not fry too much at a time, in order to maintain the temperature. Take the tempura out of the oil just when the batter gets SLIGHTLY brown. Vegetables usually take less than two to three minutes. Remember: the thinner the vegetable, the faster it cooks. For fish, the time to pull it out is when the batter turns very slightly brown. It is good idea to do trial frying in the beginning. Taste it and decide how long it will have to be fried. Once you get the timing right, the rest is simple. Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil.
There are many variations in tempura frying. You can mix two or three vegetables and fry them together. This is called kakiage style. So be creative and invent your own style.
Recipe by Living Full on Life at https://www.livingfullonlife.com/?p=1559