Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (2024)

FAQs

What is a kakiage in Japanese? ›

Kakiage (かき揚げ) is a type of tempura, and the name translates to "mixed and fried." Thus, the name refers to how the ingredients are mixed together with the tempura batter before being fried. In contrast, tempura is usually made by dipping individual ingredients into the batter.

A : Kakiage is a type of tempura. Tempura is typically characterized by its individual pieces of lightly battered seafood or vegetables however kakiage consists of various ingredients mixed together in a fritter-like form. It's still delicate and light like other tempura but is more substantial.

Some of the common vegetables used for Tempura include Japanese sweet potatoes, mushrooms (shiitake or king oysters are delicious), Kabocha squash, bell peppers, lotus roots, and eggplant. When I make vegetable tempura at home, I also like to include shiso leaves as well.

You can use any vegetable you like, but in this case I used what I had on hand, which was broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and green beans. Other veggies that would be delicious to tempura are kale leaves, peppers, zucchini and onions. The best part is that you don't even need to cook the vegetables ahead of time.

Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura, [tempɯɾa]) is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried.

Gobi are the ends to a sentence that demonstrate voice - weaker or stronger, masculine or feminine, &c - and occur in lots of forms. If you end a sentence “desu, ne?” you might be signalling a softer, even feminine connection to the listener, while ending “da, zo!” is not only emphatic, it is almost bullying in tone.

The secret of the lightness of the tempura is all in the thermal shock: the batter must be worked (a little) in a metal bowl placed in a larger bowl full of ice. A similar rule must be also applied to the vegetables or fish you want to fry: better keep them in the refrigerator until the moment before cooking.

The Hidden Dangers of Deep-Fried Tempura

Deep-frying food can lead to the formation of harmful compounds such as acrylamide, which is known to be carcinogenic. These compounds are formed when starchy foods, like tempura batter, are heated at high temperatures.

Some people prefer using low-protein flours, such as cake flour or a mix with corn starch. For convenience, there is also a pre-mix tempura flour available. Personally, I always make my tempura batter from scratch using all-purpose flour, iced water, and egg. The recommended flour to water/egg ratio is 1:1.

What is the best oil for tempura? ›

Getting the oil right

Use vegetable oil for frying tempura — corn, canola, safflower or peanut, but not olive oil. Sesame oil is highly fragrant and adding a couple of tablespoons or more can add its perfume to your tempura.

Today, tempura is most often served on rice in a rice bowl called tendon or on top of soba noodles. It may be served as a side and dipped in sauce. Sushi rolls are occasionally fried in tempura style but this is not so common within Japan.

Regardless of whether you decide to use a flour mix or to create your own batter, the key to nailing the perfect tempura batter is to use icy cold water. This slows down the formation of gluten to prevent the crust from absorbing too much oil and turning your tempura into heavy, fried food.

2. Keep the batter cold. Adding ice cubes to your tempura mixture will also slow the flour's absorption of water, since water can't be absorbed in its solid state.

To make crispy tempura batter, use low-protein flour. It is low in gluten, a protein that negatively affects the texture of the batter. Cake flour is one of the best for making the batter. All-purpose flour works too, but not as well.

Kakiage, which means "gathered and deep-fried" in Japanese, is a tempura made with sliced vegetables and sometimes seafood. This light and crispy tempura combines shrimp, onions, carrots and herbs and looks similar to a fritter.

A member of the brassica family, mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica) is also called Japanese mustard greens, California pepper grass, and spider mustard. While thought to have originated in China, mizuna has been grown in Japan for centuries. Mizuna means "water greens'' in Japanese.

Before eating, you say, Itadakimasu” (いただきます), which means Let's eat or Bon Appétit, and at the conclusion of your meal, you say Gochisosama (ごちそうさま), which means thanks for the delicious meal.

Tempura is one of the most common Japanese dishes served outside of Japan. Along with sushi, it's synonymous with 'Japanese food' in the minds of many. This is a dish that consists of vegetables and seafood battered and deep fried, and served over rice or noodles.