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    Home » Recipes » Vegetable Dishes

    Easy Kakiage (Japanese Vegetable Fritters)

    Feb 13, 2023 by JURI · This post may contain affiliate links

    5 from 5 votes
    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO

    Satisfy your veggie craving with Kakiage - a crispy and delicious vegetable fritter sure to become one of your all-time favorites. Try it today for an easy, flavorful treat!

    Kakiage on a baking tray.

    Kakiage is a type of Japanese tempura made with various ingredients and is known for its light and crispy texture.

    Whether you're a fan of traditional Japanese cuisine or just love crispy and delicious deep-fried dishes, kakiage is definitely worth trying!

      This recipe is for you if:
    • You love Japanese tempura.
    • You want to know how to cook Kakiage.
    • You are looking for easy vegetable fritter recipe.

    Let me walk you through the ingredients and the instructions. If you want to check the recipe, jump to the recipe. Let's get started!

    Jump to:
    • About this recipe
    • What is kakiage?
    • 📋 Ingredients
    • Where to buy Japanese ingredients
    • 🔪Instructions
    • Helpful tips
    • How to eat it
    • Variations
    • What to serve with
    • Thanks For Stopping By
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    About this recipe

    • Easy kakiage recipe
    • Japanese vegetable fritters
    • Crispy and light texture
    • No egg for the batter

    What is kakiage?

    Kakiage image.

    Kakiage is a type of tempura typically made with thinly sliced vegetables, which are then battered and deep-fried to a crispy golden brown.

    It's a versatile dish that can be served in various ways. One of the most popular dishes is kakiage don (rice bowl), in which the kakiage is on top of steamed rice. Also, kakiage soba and kakiage udon are popular dishes with crispy kakiage as a topping.

    Whether you're looking for a side dish, a snack, or even a main course, kakiage can be a versatile and delicious option.

    📋 Ingredients

    Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

    Ingredients for vegetable Kakiage.
    • Vegetables - Onions and carrots. They are the most popular ingredients for kakiage, and adding scallions will give it a nice pop of green color. Including green peas, kale, or green parsley would also be a great way to add some extra flavor. You can also try the different ingredients listed below.
    • Batter - Cake or all-purpose flour, potato starch, and cold water. You can substitute potato starch with corn starch.
    • Oil for deep frying - I use white sesame oil or rice oil to get an extra crispy texture. You can use vegetable oil, olive oil, or fresh cooking oil.

    Where to buy Japanese ingredients

    If you live in the US, you can find Japanese ingredients in the list below.

    • Japanese grocery stores: Mitsuwa marketplace, Marukai
    • Asian grocery stores
    • Whole foods market
    • Health food stores
    • Online stores: Instacart, Walmart, Amazon

    🔪Instructions

    Let me show you how to make it. You can also watch this recipe video.

    How to make Kakiage step by step
    1. Cut vegetables, put them in a large bowl, and add cold water.
    2. Add flour and potato starch.
    3. Combine well with your hand.
    4. Put vegetables in a frying pan heated to 160C/320F.
    5. Deep-fry until golden browned.
    6. Flip it over and deep-fry until golden browned.
    Kakiage on a baking tray.

    There you go! The natural sweetness of vegetables is something you will enjoy. It has a light, crispy texture that's absolutely amazing!

    Please enjoy this kakiage immediately, or you will lose the crispy texture over time. I don't recommend keeping them in the fridge. 

    Helpful tips

    • It is important to cut the vegetables into even slices so that they cook evenly and the kakiage will have a uniform texture.
    • Use cold water rather than lukewarm water. The batter will be light and airy and crisp up beautifully when fried.
    • While deep-frying, make a couple of small holes inside to make it easier to fry.
    • Place the cooked kakiage on a wire rack or paper towels to remove the excess oil, which will help to keep them crispy.
    • Scooping the vegetables with a large spoon and shaping them round can help ensure that each kakiage is roughly the same size, which will help them cook evenly.
    • Keep the temperature of the oil between 160C/320F - 170C/338F for best results.

    How to eat it

    Kakiage on a plate.

    We typically dip it in Tentsuyu or put salt on top. The Tentsuyu is a dipping sauce for tempura made from dashi, mirin, and soy sauce and is an excellent way to flavor tempura.

    I like simply putting a little salt on it, which brings out the flavor of vegetables.

    Variations

    You can add many other ingredients to kakiage to create different flavor profiles and textures. Here are some popular alternatives:

    • Root vegetables - Burdock root, lotus root, sweet potatoes, potatoes
    • Green vegetables - Green beans, edamame, green peas, kale, green parsley
    • Other - Natto, sakura ebi, nori seaweed

    What to serve with

    Kakiage rice bowl with side dish.

    You can eat it as it is or serve it with udon or soba noodles, but the Kakiage rice bowl is my favorite!

    • Kakiage Don (rice bowl)
    • Kabocha miso soup
    • Pickled daikon and cherry tomatoes

    It's simple Japanese-style lunch, and I hope you enjoy it!

    Thanks For Stopping By

    Kakiage on a baking tray.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡ If you've tried this recipe (or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

    Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

    Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

    More Vegetable Tempura Recipes You Might Like

    • Vegetable tempura
    • Kabocha tempura
    • Sweet potato tempura
    • Eggplant tempura
    • How to make tempura batter 3 ways

    📖 Recipe

    Kakiage on a baking tray

    Easy Kakiage (Japanese Vegetable Fritters)

    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep: 5 minutes
    Cook: 10 minutes
    Total: 15 minutes
    Servings: 2 servings
    Author: JURI
    If you love vegetables, these Kakiage (Vegetable Fritters) will be your new favorite! They're crispy and so easy. I'm sure you'll love them!
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ Onion, 50g
    • ¼ Carrot, 40g
    • 1 Scallion, 2g
    • Oil for deep-frying

    Batter

    • 2 tablespoon Cold water, 30ml
    • 3 tablespoon Cake flour or All Purpose flour, 27g
    • 2 tablespoon Potato starch, 18g

    Instructions

    • Cut vegetables: Thinly slice an onion, cut a carrot into thin strips, chop a scallion, and put them in a bowl.
    • Add batter ingredients: Add water to the bowl and combine lightly, then add flour and potato starch and combine well.
    • Prepare a pan: Put oil (2 cm/1 inch) in a frying pan and heat to 160C/320F.
    • Deep-fry: Scoop the vegetables with a spoon and slowly put them in the pan. When one side is golden brown (about 1-2 minutes), flip it over and deep-fry until golden brown.

    Video

    Notes

    • Equipment: Frying pan 22 cm/9 inches
    • Substitute: You can substitute potato starch with corn starch.
    • Storage: Please enjoy this kakiage immediately, or you will lose the crispy texture over time. I don't recommend keeping them in the fridge. 
    • Portions: 4 thin Kakiage
    • It is important to cut the vegetables into even slices so that they cook evenly and the kakiage will have a uniform texture.
    • Use cold water rather than lukewarm water. The batter will be light and airy and crisp up beautifully when fried.
    • Scooping the vegetables with a large spoon and making them round can help ensure that each kakiage is roughly the same size, which will help them cook evenly.
    • Keep the temperature of the oil between 160C/320F - 170C/338F for best results.
    • While deep-frying, make a couple of small holes inside to make it easier to fry.
    • Place the cooked kakiage on a wire rack or paper towel to remove the excess oil, which will help keep them crispy.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 9mg | Sugar: 2g
    Course: Main
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Keyword: Japanese vegetable fritters, Kakiage
    Did You Make this recipe?Please Leave a star rating!

    More Vegetable Dishes

    • potato mochi served with mitarashi glaze.
      Potato Mochi
    • eggplant tempura with daikon oroshi and tentsuyu.
      Eggplant Tempura
    • miso mayo dipping sauce with vegetables.
      Creamy Miso Mayo Dipping Sauce Recipe
    • vegan miso soup in a saucepan.
      10-Minute Vegan Miso Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gianfranco

      July 13, 2022 at 4:26 pm

      5 stars
      Semplice e bello, grazie da Venezia !

      Reply
      • JURI

        July 13, 2022 at 6:46 pm

        You are very welcome, Gianfranco! Grazie!!

        Reply
    2. Eurico

      July 25, 2022 at 1:50 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Juri
      Excellent recipe, the combination of veggies was great and my kitchen smelled so good while the fritters were cooking, they were crispy and so flavorful, all I did was add a little salt just before I ate them.
      Thanks again for sharing your great recipes.

      Reply
      • JURI

        July 26, 2022 at 4:59 am

        Thank you so much for trying, Eurico! And thank you for your suggestion!

        Reply

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