Thai Tempura Vegetables with Mustard Mayonnaise
Serves 4 as a starter
Ingredients:
1l sunflower oil for deep-frying
100g carrots, sliced
100g asparagus spears, cut
100g purple aubergine, sliced
100g baby corn, halved
100g broccoli florets
For the batter:
200g self-raising flour
400ml ice cold water
¼tsp salt
For the mustard mayonnaise:
100g mayonnaise
20g English mustard
25ml dairy milk
2dsp sugar
1dsp vinegar
¼tsp salt
1dsp water
Cooking method:
- Prepare the vegetables by removing the hard end of the asparagus.
- Hold the end and the middle of the asparagus, bend it gently and the hard inedible bit will snap off.
- Cut the remainder into 5cm pieces.
- Cut the carrots lengthways into slices approx. ½cm width. Then slice into pieces 5-6 cm in length.
- Cut the aubergine lengthways into slices approximately
- ½cm width and cut each slice into 4 pieces.
To make the batter:
- The trick for a good tempura batter is to mix the self-raising flour with ice cold water and salt until you have a smooth batter.
To make the mustard mayonnaise:
- Mix the sugar, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan on a low heat until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Leave to cool.
- Put the mayonnaise, English mustard and milk in a bowl and using a whisk, slowly pour in the sugar, vinegar and salt mixture, whisking until they are well blended.
- Using a deep fat fryer or heavy saucepan, heat the oil to sizzling, 180°C. Dip the vegetables in the batter, drop into the sizzling oil and cook until crispy and golden – 1-2 minutes.
- Vegetables cook at different speeds so start with the carrots, asparagus etc. leaving the aubergine until last but keep them crunchy.
- Remove and place on to kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
To serve:
Arrange a selection of different vegetables on each plate and serve with mustard mayonnaise on the side.
