How to make
Tempura is a breading prepared with ice-cold water or another liquid that is kept cold throughout the process until the end of frying, in order to provide maximum contrast in the contact between the hot fat and the ice breading, which creates a very fine and crispy crust. .
Some say that tempura is made with egg yolk, others only with egg white and there are others who say without egg at all. In some recipes there is even a leavening agent.
Here is my version and in the case with some wonderful eggplants.
Cut the vegetables into thin slices and put them in plenty of salted water, in order for them to release the bitter juice - 30 minutes to 1 hour. During this time, leave a container with 1 1/2 cups (300 ml) of water in the freezer.
The eggplant slices are rinsed and arranged onto kitchen paper to drain and dry.
For the tempura, beat the egg and mix it with the ice-cold water, add the flour with a little salt and beat everything, so that there are no lumps. The breading prepared in this way is placed in a larger container filled with ice to keep it cold.
Heat the oil in a wide pan at 180 degrees - the temperature should be neither too high nor too low.
Dip the slices in the cold breadcrumbs and put them in the oil only when the required temperature has been reached. They are placed in a way, so that they float and fry freely in the fat without touching each other. It is also important not to put too many at a time, so that you do not lower the frying temperature and spoil the effect.
When the breading aquires a slightly golden color (it should not darken much), the breaded eggplants are taken out and placed onto kitchen paper without putting them on top of each other, in order for them to stay crispy.
The eggplant tempura is served hot or chilled with garlic sauce.
Enjoy your meal!
