5 from 5 votes

Learn how to quickly cook delicious, light Eggplant Tempura with this easy recipe. Enjoy the wonderful flavors of this classic Japanese dish right at home!

Looking for more simple eggplant recipes? Try these 8 Easy Japanese Eggplant Recipes!

I’ll walk you through the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you enjoy it!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Japanese eggplant is one of the best vegetables for making tempura.
This eggplant tempura recipe will help you create a delicious tempura that achieves the perfect balance of crispiness on the outside while remaining light and airy.
The instructions are easy to follow!

What is Tempura?

Tempura is fried food made by battering and deep-frying ingredients such as shrimp, fish, and vegetables. It’s a classic Japanese dish that you will see on the menu at Japanese restaurants. It’s also one of the popular home-cooked dishes as you can quickly make a delicious dinner for the whole family with several simple ingredients.

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Eggplant Tempura:

Japanese Eggplants: You can usually find Japanese eggplants at Japanese grocery stores or Asian grocery stores. However, if they are not available, Chinese eggplant makes the best substitute.
Oil: You can use any oil, such as vegetable oil or canola oil. I use non-flavored sesame oil in this recipe.
Tempura Batter: This recipe uses water, cake flour (or all-purpose flour), and baking powder—no egg is needed. For more variations, check out this post: 3 Easy Homemade Tempura Batter Recipes (Gluten-Free & Vegan).
Mentsuyu: This is for tempura dipping sauce. Mentsuyu is a multipurpose noodle soup base with a savory flavor made from dashi broth (Japanese soup stock), mirin, and soy sauce. I use store-bought one in this recipe, but if you like making it on your own, see this Homemade Mentsuyu Recipe.
Daikon radish: Make daikon oroshi and add it to the mentsuyu sauce. It is common to include grated daikon in the sauce as it helps to digest fatty foods like Tempura. You can also add a touch of lemon juice for digestion benefits.

How To Make Eggplant Tempura: STEP BY STEP

Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.

Step 1

Cut eggplant into quarters and make thin slits.

Step 2

Make tempura batter with flour, baking powder, and cold water.

Step 3

Dust the eggplant with flour.

Step 4

Heat oil in a frying pan or any deep pot. Dip the eggplant in the batter and put them in the pan.

Step 5

Flip them over and deep-fry until cooked.

Step 6

Make a tempura sauce with mentsuyu and grated daikon.

Here you go! They’re so crispy and tasty. Dip them in tempura sauce and enjoy authentic Japanese eggplant tempura!

Recipe Tips

Do not mix the batter until smooth. If you mix too much, gluten will form, and your tempura will be heavy and chewy. See ‘Homemade Tempura Batter Recipe‘ for more tips.
If you dust ingredients with flour, the extra surface will reduce the water content of vegetables and keep them from getting soggy. In addition, the batter sticks to vegetables, and you can fry them without having the tempura skin come off.
Draining oil after frying is also essential. After cooking the Tempura, remove excess fat by placing it on a cooling rack. Keep them upright as much as possible, and do not stack them.

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Japanese Eggplant Tempura

5 from 5 votes

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Prep: 5

Cook: 10

Total: 15

Servings: 4 serving

Author: Juri Austin

Learn how to quickly cook delicious, light Eggplant Tempura with this easy recipe, and Enjoy the wonderful flavor of a classic Japanese dish at home!

Equipment

Frying pan 22cm (9 inches)

Ingredients

▢ 2 Eggplants
▢ Oil for deep-frying

Batter

▢ 200 ml Cold water
▢ 100 g Cake flour
▢ ½ tsp Baking powder

Tempura Sauce

▢ 600 ml Mentsuyu, Dilute with water according to the bottle instructions.
▢ 1 inch Daikon radish

Instructions

Cut eggplant: Cut eggplant into quarters and make thin slits.
Prepare a pan: Put oil about 2 cm (1 inch) high in a pan and heat it to 170C (335F).
Make the batter: Add cold water to a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder with a strainer, and mix.
Dust with flour: Dust the eggplant with flour.
Deep-fry: Dip the eggplant in batter, put them in the pan, and deep-fry until cooked (about a couple of minutes). Place them on a cooling rack to drip excess oil.
Make Tentsuyu: Grate the daikon radish (daikon oroshi). Dilute mentsuyu (noodle soup) with water according to the bottle instructions and add daikon oroshi.

Video

Notes

Do not mix the batter until smooth. If you mix too much, gluten will form, and your tempura will be heavy and chewy. See ‘Homemade Tempura Batter Recipe‘ for more tips.
If you dust ingredients with flour, the extra surface will reduce the water content of vegetables and keep them from getting soggy. In addition, the batter sticks to vegetables, and you can fry them without having the tempura skin come off.
Draining oil after frying is also essential. After cooking the Tempura, remove excess fat by placing it on a cooling rack. Keep them upright as much as possible, and do not stack them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 160kcal

Course: Main

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: eggplant tempura, vegetable tempura

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