Easy Kakiage Tempura (Japanese Vegetable Fritters)

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 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 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 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).

• 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 market: Mitsuwa Marketplace, Marukai
• Asian market
• 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.

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.

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

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

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 a simple Japanese-style lunch, and I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks For Stopping By!

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