Cracked Pepper Tempura (Gluten Free)
Light, crispy, and so easy to make it’s ridiculous.
Tempura used to be this elusive dish I marvelled and wondered over, but thanks to Food52 — one of my favourite food sites and cookbook series — tempura is now something I can whip up almost as fast as the oil heats up.
The secret to this recipe is two-fold: 1) chill the club soda in the freezer for ~20-30 minutes before using it, and 2) go for rice flour to ensure maximum crispness. Yes, you can use all-purpose flour, but rice flour will make your recipe gluten-free and a guaranteed pleaser for those guests with dietary restrictions.
You can also change this recipe by adding in dried parsley, chives, garlic powder, or even a pinch of cayenne to spice things up. The cracked black pepper is an absolute must though, so whatever else you add, don’t cut this ingredient out. — CFG
Ingredients
(This recipe also works well halved.)
3 cups rice flour
1 heaping tsp finely ground sea salt
1 heaping tsp roughly cracked pepper
1 litre extra cold club soda
Canola/peanut oil for cooking
Bite-sized vegetables of your choice (thinly sliced carrots, zucchini, onion, sweet potato,etc.)
Bit-sized protein of your choice (cooked shrimp, tofu, paneer, etc.)
For dipping sauce
1 part rice vinegar
1 part soya sauce -OR- tamari (for gluten free)
Directions
Chill 1 litre of club sofa in the freezer for 20-30min. (Only remove from freezer just prior to mixing to maintain maximum chill and bubbles.)
Whisk together ~3 cups of rice flour with 1 heaping tsp of finely ground sea salt and 1 heaping tsp of cracked (not ground) black pepper together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Add neutral cooking oil to a wok or large pot so there is a minimum of 1” of oil at the base and at least 2” of clearance to the top of the pot. Heat to 350-360 F.
While oil is warming and club soda is chilling, prep vegetables and protein of your choice by cutting into bite-sized pieces. Make sure items are dry so they pick up the batter well and don’t spatter when they touch the cooking oil.
Set up your cooking station with a plate lined with paper towel next to your wok and a spiderweb strainer for removing cooked items.
Once you’re ready to start cooking, remove the club soda from the freezer and slowly whisk it into the rice flour mixture just until it creates a thin pancake-like batter. (You may not use all of the soda depending on how much flour mixture you have.)
Dip the veggies/protein in the batter until completely covered and gently place into the cooking oil.
Note: You may have to gently stir the batter once or twice halfway through battering pieces to ensure even distribution. Otherwise, the best method is to dredge the vegetable/protein into the mixture from the bottom of the bowl and pull upward through the liquid.
Cook pieces for 2-3 min or until golden brown, turning over halfway through cooking. (Be sure not to crowd pieces to gather to avoid sticking and bring oil back up to temperature between batches.)
Remove pieces from the cooking oil with the spiderweb strainer and place on the paper towel lined plate, then transfer to a serving platter.
In a dipping bowl, mix together 1 part soya sauce OR tamari and 1 part rice vinegar, and place alongside tempura.
Serve and enjoy!
