Japanese Tempura

This recipe was given to me in Japan to go along with the tempura sauce Japanese Tempura Sauce. The Japanese word for breading the tempura is "kolomo" which is an old word that means to dress/wear, so these veggies get to be dressed before they are fried :-) I just guessed how much vegetables can be covered with this recipe- we fried about as much as would fit into a gallon sized ice cream bucket, including the fish. The vegetables we used were: potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, pumpkin, asparagus, and eggplant, but you can use virtually anything.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄2 cups flour
• 2 -2 1⁄2 cups water
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  gallon  assorted fresh vegetable
• 1  pint  fresh  fish
•  oil (for frying)

Directions

1. Wash and chop your fresh vegetables into 1/4 inch thick slices (they look prettier if you cut them at an angle.) Potatoes, cabbage, onions and carrots should be shredded, not sliced. Set aside.
2. Slice the fish into pieces about 1/4" x 1" x 2", set aside.
3. Pour about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil into a wide pot or frying pan, heat on medium.
4. Meanwhile, mix flour, salt and enough water to form a thin batter. (The consistency should be between that of pancakes and crepes.).
5. Once the oil is warm enough, toss a handful of veggies into the batter. Fish out individual pieces (unless it's shredded, then pull out palm sized clumps) with chopsticks (or tongs) making sure they are thoroughly coated. Carefully drop into the oil. Turn after a minute or two, depending on what you are cooking, to brown both sides. They are done when a chopstick can easily pierce through to the other side.
6. Set aside onto a serving plate; continue to coat and fry the remaining veggies and then the fish. Serve hot with tempura sauce.