If you think tempura is not for the gluten free types, think again.
Also think harder if you think tempura is always greasy and bad for you. It doesn’t have to be.
And finally, if you think sushi is not for vegans, go to Sushi Momo. Then try to recreate it at home, like I did.
There are Japanese tempura techniques that result in light and crispy tempura, and I’ve managed that once, with a ton of expensive oil that then sat in my fridge for ages and was eventually thrown out.
But this version was easy. You just need a thick baking sheet that will actually brown your sweet potatoes on the bottom. If you put parchment paper underneath, you’re going to have limp sweet potato fries. Floppy fries are not tempura. You need crispy, sweet delicacies that keep their texture even when rolled up in maki.
Sweet Potato Tempura
You can find gluten free panko at specialty stores. You might not need to add any salt if the panko already has a lot of sodium. Check the package. To make your own panko, toast a few slices of gluten free bread and then tear off the outer edges. Retoast the inner bits as necessary until dry. Let the toast cool and then process the crumbs in a food processor. If the bread is warm, it’ll get soggy. You can also tear it into pieces and toast the bread on a baking sheet int the oven until crispy, but set a timer for every few minutes until it’s done. Otherwise, it’s too easy to end up with burnt toast.
2 cups gluten free panko
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
2 eggs
3 cups of sweet potato batons, cut like you would cucumber or avocado for sushi (see here for how to make sushi)
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Combine the panko and salt (if necessary) in a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Toss the sweet potato batons in the eggs and then, one-by-one, coat them in the seasoned panko.
Place them on a baking sheet, with a little room for air between each piece. Use a couple sheets if necessary, but only bake them one tray at a time or the bottom tray will steam instead of roasting. Also, if roasting multiple sheets, don’t coat all the sweet potato in panko and then place them on the second sheet to wait for the first to bake; the panko will get soggy.
Roast the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes, then flip them and roast another 5 minutes. If they’re not quite crispy on the outside and soft on the inside yet, flip them onto a third side and roast another 5 minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes from the sheet onto a cooling rack or plate. Don’t stack them or all your work making them crispy will be undone.
Repeat with the second sheet as necessary.
Rejoice for the deliciousness of lightened up sweet potato tempura!
Leave a Reply