Tempura frying can be challenging, but as Japanese-American Chef Niki Nakayama says, once you understand the concept, it becomes easier. Learn how to make crispy tempura with her recipe. 

Niki Nakayama’s Rockfish and Vegetable Tempura Recipe

Tempura is a Japanese dish consisting of vegetables or seafood lightly battered and deep fried until crispy. The technique was likely brought to Japan in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese and has since become a staple of Japanese cuisine.

At Japanese restaurants, you’ll see a tempura chef use multiple pots because, as Chef Niki Nakayama explains, “certain [ingredients] require different temperatures to cook, and timing as well.” 

Tempura is typically served with tentsuyu, a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, mirin (<a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-best-wine-for-cooking' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-best-wine-for-cooking","linkCopy":"cooking wine","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>cooking wine</a>), and [dashi](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dashi-explained) (fish broth), plus shredded daikon radish and ginger for stirring into the sauce. 
Tempura frying is a skill. Here are Chef Niki’s tips to mastering tempura frying: 

- __Use a premixed flour__. While you can make your own tempura flour, you can also find premixed tempura flour at Japanese markets. “It has the baking soda all pre-sifted in,” Chef Niki. “It has dried egg white powder as well. And that really helps to make a batter that’s crispy and less oily.” 
- __Add sesame oil__. To your tempura oil base (you can use rice bran oil, vegetable oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil), add sesame oil. “Sometimes if you’ve had tempura that has a little aroma of sesame flavor, that’s the little addition of sesame oil into the oil,” she says.
- __Keep your batter cold__. Add a bowl of ice underneath your batter so that it stays cold. “[One] of the things about tempura batter is … it really needs to be cold in order to produce a really nice product,” Chef Niki says. 
- __Maintain the oil’s temperature__. If the temperature of the oil drops, it can affect the final product, making it less crispy. “[Pull] little bits of batter that [are remaining out] of the oil because … the little tempura batter bits actually causes the oil temperature to go down a little bit,” she says. 
Tempura frying can be challenging, but as Japanese-American Chef Niki Nakayama says, once you understand the concept, it becomes easier. Learn how to make crispy tempura with her recipe.

Tempura is a Japanese dish consisting of vegetables or seafood lightly battered and deep fried until crispy. The technique was likely brought to Japan in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese and has since become a staple of Japanese cuisine.At Japanese restaurants, you’ll see a tempura chef use multiple pots because, as Chef Niki Nakayama explains, “certain [ingredients] require different temperatures to cook, and timing as well.” Tempura is typically served with tentsuyu, a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, mirin (<a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-best-wine-for-cooking' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-best-wine-for-cooking","linkCopy":"cooking wine","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>cooking wine</a>), and <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dashi-explained' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dashi-explained","linkCopy":"dashi","category":null}'>dashi</a> (fish broth), plus shredded daikon radish and ginger for stirring into the sauce.

What Is Tempura?

Tempura frying is a skill. Here are Chef Niki’s tips to mastering tempura frying: <ul class="mc-m-4 list-styled"><li class="">Use a premixed flour. While you can make your own tempura flour, you can also find premixed tempura flour at Japanese markets. “It has the baking soda all pre-sifted in,” Chef Niki. “It has dried egg white powder as well. And that really helps to make a batter that’s crispy and less oily.” </li><li class="">Add sesame oil. To your tempura oil base (you can use rice bran oil, vegetable oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil), add sesame oil. “Sometimes if you’ve had tempura that has a little aroma of sesame flavor, that’s the little addition of sesame oil into the oil,” she says. </li><li class="">Keep your batter cold. Add a bowl of ice underneath your batter so that it stays cold. “[One] of the things about tempura batter is … it really needs to be cold in order to produce a really nice product,” Chef Niki says. </li><li class="">Maintain the oil’s temperature. If the temperature of the oil drops, it can affect the final product, making it less crispy. “[Pull] little bits of batter that [are remaining out] of the oil because … the little tempura batter bits actually causes the oil temperature to go down a little bit,” she says. </li></ul>

Chef Niki Nakayama’s Tips for Tempura Frying

Tempura frying can be challenging, but as Japanese-American Chef Niki Nakayama says, once you understand the concept, it becomes easier. Learn how to make crispy tempura with her recipe.

Tempura frying can be challenging, but as Japanese-American Chef Niki Nakayama says, once you understand the concept, it becomes easier. Learn how to make crispy tempura with her recipe. 
