Tempura batter is very handy and easy to make. You can use it with just about any vegetable, as long as they are cut thin enough so that the vegetable can just cook and soften in the same time as it takes for the batter to crisp. These can be eaten alone as a starter with a good sprinkle of rock salt, halves of lemon or lime and possibly some of the dips. The battered vegetables also make a nice side dish, especially with simply cooked meat or fish and a salad. Ice-cold water, preferably soda or sparkling Add all the flour to a bowl. With the handle of a spoon, or a chopstick, mix, and stir in the ice-cold water until the mixture is slightly thicker than buttermilk consistency. Make a point of not mixing thoroughly, as tempura is renowned for lumps of flour. Dip sliced vegetables (zucchini, onions, eggplants, carrots, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, string beans, broccoli, wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, and bok choy) any vegetables will work but these are the most commonly used) into the batter mixture and shake off any excess. Deep fry vegetables in a wok or deep fat fryer (you can use a frying pan if you do not have anything else, you just need about 7cm/3 inches of clean oil) at 200C/400F/Gas 6 until the batter is light golden in colour and crisp. (Any large amounts of hot oil in a kitchen, especially in woks which are not always that sturdy, scare me

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes