Corn Tempura Okra fries
Want to learn an alternative way to use Okra? – you've come to the right place! Vegan friendly too.
Tempura batter has always been something that I have wanted to try as my fascination for Asian cuisine has been a big influence in my cooking. Asian cooking techniques, flavours and attention to detail in their cuisine is mesmerising.
Tempura batter consists of wheat flour, starch, egg, all dissolved in water. Tempura originated in Japan and was heavily influenced by the Portuguese as they bought the frying technique to Japan back in the 16th century.
In this recipe, I have swapped the egg for cornmeal flour, gotta keep things vegan. I used sparkling water to make it extra crispy, but this is optional – water will still yield great results. I have chosen to use cornmeal as it mimics egg function, helping with the colour and flavour. Another reason why I decided to use cornmeal is, it's a very popular ingredient in West African as corn is grown in abundance. So it's often used in many traditional recipes, for example, Koki corn. I've already created a tasty recipe using cornmeal; check it out here.
The vegetable I've chosen to fry in the batter is Okra. Okra fries are very popular in many Asian and African restaurants and street food vendors. However, I find that the batter used is too heavy, and the Okra gets lost and turns soggy and oily once they start to cool down, which isn't a great eating experience. With this recipe, you shouldn't experience any of these things and will impress for sure!
I learnt in my cheffing career that it's vital to salt and season things post frying while they are still hot to give it that extra oomph! So to continue with the Asian and West African fusion, I wanted to use Hibiscus, a flower to make a Hibiscus Salt. This flower is very common in Japan and now widely grown in African countries and used as a herbal remedy. The Pink flowers with a floral undertone help finish the fries off and elevate the flavours from the tempura batter.
I like to support local businesses as much as possible, and I bought the Hibiscus flower from a black-owned Manchester business called SACO SUPERFOODS.
They are an award-winning family business based in Salford since 2016. They work directly with small-scale women producers to bring you the best natural and highly nutritious ingredients from West Africa.
They Ship UK wide and can collect from their store as well. Check them out and support their amazing mission – I am a proud customer and will continue to support #Blackownedbuinesses
Tips:
· First, lightly coat the seafood or vegetable plain flour before dipping them into the tempura batter. This allows the batter to adhere better.
· Once coated, dip your items into the batter gently. Too much batter runs the risk of a crispy exterior and mushy interior.
· Once fried, serve immediately with a dipping sauce and dig in. Tempura can get mushy if it sits too long.
· When you aren't using the batter for long periods, place it back into the fridge to keep it chilled.
· Always sift the flour. This makes the flour lighter and easier to incorporate into the batter when it's mixed.
· Instead of a whisk, use a spoon to mix the tempura batter ingredients. This minimises the amount of air in the batter and lessens the risk of overmixing.
Ingredients
2 Litre of vegetable oil (or your oil of choice)
Stage 1:
70g plain flour
70g cornmeal flour
140g cornflour
4g salt
1 tsp ginger powder
340g sparkling water – chilled
Stage 2:
300g fresh okra
Stage 3:
1 tbsp Hibiscus flower from SACO SUPERFOODS
½ tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp salt
Stage 4:
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp parsley oil dressing (see separate recipe)
Prep-work
1. Placed the chilled water in the fridge for at least 2 hours
2. Add all ingredients in stage 3 in a blender and grind to a powder. – put to one side.
3. Make stage 4 dipping sauce – put to one side
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan/wok to between 170C and 180C (335F-350F) (if you do not have a thermometer, test it is hot enough by placing a wooden spoon in the oil it starts to sizzle almost instantly, the oil is ready).
2. While to oil is heating up, combine all the ingredients in stage one and mix well with a spoon.
3. Once the oil is hot, gently dip the Okra in the batter and gently drop it into the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan, frying a maximum of 3/4 at one time. Cook for 1 minute until golden brown.
4. Remove from the pan using a spider/slotted spoon and place on a kitchen towel or a clean, dry tea towel to soak up excess oil. Garnish with stage 3 seasoning and serve immediately with the soy parsley oil dipping sauce.