Air Fryer Tempura: A Tasty, Crispy Treat

Tempura is a Japanese dish that consists of shrimp and/or vegetables dipped in a batter and then deep-fried. It is usually served as a side dish, but it can also be a main course served over rice. While it is possible to make tempura at home, achieving the perfect lacy, crispy batter is quite challenging. One of the most significant challenges of making tempura in an air fryer is getting the batter right. The thin batter used in traditional tempura often flies off the food or drips to the bottom of the air fryer basket when it starts circulating. However, some recipes and tips are available for making tempura in an air fryer, usually involving adaptations to the batter and cooking process.

Air fryer tempura batter tips

Air fryer tempura is a healthier alternative to the traditional deep-fried version. However, the batter can be tricky as it tends to fly off or drip down when the air starts circulating in the fryer. Here are some tips to help you achieve crispy and delicious tempura in your air fryer:

Batter Consistency:

The key to successful air fryer tempura is achieving the right batter consistency. The batter should be thin enough to create a light and crispy coating, but not so thin that it flies off or drips off your food. To get the right consistency, use a batter that is not too liquidy. You can also dip your battered food in flour to create a dry outer coating, which helps prevent dripping and sticking.

Temperature Control:

Use ice-cold water in your batter. This slows down the gluten formation process, resulting in a lighter and puffier batter. Additionally, preheat your air fryer to the recommended temperature, usually around 350-400°F (175-200°C), to ensure even cooking.

Food Preparation:

When preparing your ingredients, cut root vegetables into thin slices, aiming for less than 1/4 inch thickness. This ensures that they cook through by the time your batter is done frying. For shrimp tempura, make small notches on the underside of the shrimp and stretch them out to straighten them before cooking. This is an optional step for presentation purposes, as it doesn't affect the taste.

Cooking in Batches:

Avoid overcrowding your air fryer basket. Cook your tempura in batches to allow for proper air circulation and even cooking. While one batch is frying, have the next batch ready by continuing to batter your ingredients.

Additional Tips:

Some additional tips to enhance your tempura batter include using carbonated water or beer instead of regular water for extra fluffiness. You can also add a few drops of lemon juice and baking powder to the wet batter. For an authentic Japanese touch, use Japanese mayonnaise in your batter to emulsify the oils and prevent sogginess.

Remember, achieving the perfect tempura batter in an air fryer may take some experimentation. Don't be afraid to make adjustments to find the technique that works best for you!

Air fryer tempura shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 sweet potato or other vegetable
• Salt
• Canola oil spray

Optional:

Sake

For the Sauce:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sherry
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp chopped scallions
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger stir-in paste

Method:

• Peel and slice the sweet potato (or other vegetable) into rounds no thicker than 1/4 inch.
• Soak root veggies in water while prepping other foods to wash off excess starch.
• Optional: Make shallow slices crosswise along the underside of the shrimp. Using your fingers, stretch out the shrimp so that it lies straight, instead of curled. Traditional shrimp tempura is always straight, but you can skip this step if you don't care for it. The taste will be the same.
• Optional: Soak prepped shrimp in sake while making the batter to remove fishy smells prior to cooking.
• Make the tempura batter by mixing water, mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup of the flour in a bowl.
• Mix salt and remaining 1/2 cup flour in a separate bowl.
• Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Dip your fillings into the wet batter.
• Take your battered shrimp or vegetables and dip them into the dry flour/salt mix. Add more flour as necessary to lightly coat the outside of your tempura. The flour coating helps prevent the battered food from sticking to each other or to the air fryer basket. A thicker, dryer batter also prevents it from completely flying off the food when you air fry.
• Place tempura into the preheated air fryer basket, taking care to not overcrowd the basket. You will probably need to do this in batches.
• Spray with canola oil spray and air fry at 350 degrees. Shrimp tempura takes 8 minutes. Root vegetables take 10.
• Serve hot with tempura dipping sauce (can be purchased or homemade) and rice, or as a side to noodle dishes and bentos.

Tips:

• Make sure to slice your root vegetables thin! Aim for shy of 1/4 inch thickness, or your veggies won’t cook through by the time your batter is done frying.
• It’s very important not to overcrowd the basket. You want the hot air to be able to circulate properly to fry up the tempura batter on each shrimp.
• While your first batch of shrimp are in the air fryer, continue battering your second batch so they’re ready to go in the air fryer as soon as the first batch is done.
• Make sure the water you’re using in the batter is ice cold. This slows down the gluten formation process, which is what makes the batter so light and puffy.

Air fryer tempura vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour, separated into halves
• 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and head removed
• 1 sweet potato or other vegetables of choice
• Salt
• Canola oil spray

Optional Ingredients:

Sake

Steps:

• Peel the sweet potato (or other vegetable) and slice it into rounds no thicker than 1/4 inch.
• Soak the root veggies in water to wash off excess starch while you prep the other ingredients.
• Optional: Make shallow slices crosswise along the underside of the shrimp. Use your fingers to stretch out the shrimp so that it lies straight instead of curled. This is a traditional presentation for shrimp tempura, but you can skip this step if you don't care for it—it will taste the same either way.
• Optional: Soak the prepped shrimp in sake to remove any fishy smells before cooking.
• Make the tempura batter by mixing water, mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup of flour in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, mix salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
• Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Dip your chosen fillings into the wet batter.
• Take the battered shrimp or vegetables and dip them into the dry flour/salt mix. Add more flour as needed to lightly coat the outside. This flour coating will help prevent the food from sticking to each other or to the air fryer basket. A thicker, drier batter will also prevent it from flying off the food when air frying.
• Place the tempura into the preheated air fryer basket, ensuring you do not overcrowd the basket. You will likely need to cook in batches.
• Spray with canola oil and air fry at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shrimp tempura will take around 8 minutes, while root vegetables will take around 10 minutes.
• Serve hot with tempura dipping sauce (either purchased or homemade) and rice, or as a side dish to noodle dishes.

Tips:

• For the vegetables, you can use sweet potato, carrot, lotus root, kabocha squash, bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, or shiitake mushrooms.
• If you don't have Japanese mayonnaise, you can omit it from the recipe, but the author recommends frying the tempura the traditional way instead of using the air fryer, as the batter is very thin and may blow away in the air fryer without the mayonnaise to hold it together.
• To get the best batter, some people recommend using carbonated water, or water that is very cold.
• You can add salt to the batter to compensate for the lack of salt that would usually come from deep frying.

Air fryer tempura without deep frying

Tempura is a Japanese dish that traditionally involves deep frying shrimp and vegetables in batter. However, it is possible to make tempura in an air fryer, which is a healthier alternative to deep frying.

The Challenges of Air Frying Tempura

The main challenge when making tempura in an air fryer is getting the batter right. Air fryers are better suited to breaded foods than battered foods. The intense air circulation in an air fryer can cause thin batter to fly off the food or drip to the bottom of the basket.

Tips for Air Frying Tempura

• Use a batter that is not too liquidy.
• After dipping your food in the batter, coat it with flour to create a breaded surface that will hold the batter in place.
• Slice root vegetables thinly (no thicker than 1/4 inch) so that they cook through at the same rate as the batter.
• For shrimp tempura, score the underside of the shrimp and straighten them out before cooking to achieve the traditional straight presentation.
• Use Japanese mayonnaise in the batter to emulsify the oils and prevent sogginess.
• Add salt to the batter to make up for the loss of flavour from not deep frying.
• Preheat your air fryer to 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit before cooking.
• Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil spray to prevent sticking.
• Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. Cook the tempura in batches if necessary.

Air Fryer Tempura Recipes

Shrimp Tempura

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh jumbo shrimp
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 egg whites or 1 large egg, beaten
• Cornstarch
• Salt
• Cooking oil spray

Instructions:

• Prepare the shrimp by deveining them and removing the shell up to the tail.
• Make 4-5 small notches on the "belly" of each shrimp and stretch them out. Pat them dry with paper towels.
• In a bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the flour, ice-cold water, and egg whites. In a second bowl, add the remaining flour.
• Place cornstarch and salt in a plastic zipper bag. Add the shrimp and toss well to coat.
• Preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees F. Spray the inner basket generously with cooking oil spray.
• Dip the shrimp, one at a time, in the wet flour batter, then dredge them through the dry flour to lightly coat them. Place them on a clean plate or parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Working in batches, set the shrimp in the basket in a single, uncrowded layer. Spray them well with cooking oil spray, then air fry for 7-8 minutes, until lightly golden.

Vegetable Tempura

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cups of any assorted or seasonal vegetables (e.g. green beans, asparagus, red onion, sweet pepper, avocado, zucchini, sweet potato)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided, or more to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

• Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F and the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Whisk eggs and water together in another shallow dish. Stir panko and oil together in a third shallow dish.
• Sprinkle vegetables with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; dip in flour mixture, then in egg mixture, and finally in panko mixture to coat.
• Arrange half of the vegetables in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with additional salt, if desired. Transfer vegetables to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining vegetables.

Air fryer tempura dipping sauces

Air fryer tempura is best served hot and fresh, with a dipping sauce for added flavour. Here are some ideas for sauces to serve with your homemade tempura.

Tentsuyu

Tentsuyu is the traditional dipping sauce served with tempura. It is made with soy sauce and mirin (sweet rice wine). You can also add grated daikon radish and fresh ginger for extra flavour.

Spicy Mayo

For a different flavour profile, dip your tempura in spicy mayo.

Ponzu Sauce

Ponzu sauce is another popular choice for tempura dipping.

Sweet Chilli Sauce

For a sweet and spicy kick, try a sweet chilli sauce.

Other Ideas

You could also try a simple soy sauce, or get creative and experiment with different sauces to find your favourite combination.

Frequently asked questions