I love finger food. I could eat it as a main meal in itself. The Japanese must’ve known what I was thinking and created so many wonderful snack dishes. Kakiage is mainly vegetables fried together. Although, strictly speaking my kakiage shape is somewhat out of it. 🙂 But I love the crunchiness of it and since it’s all vegetables, can’t be that bad.
You could also eat kakiage with a noodle dish or if you must…plain rice. I’m not really a rice person but for the sake of family meals, I have to cook it. No one is going to reject anything fried, I remember making this dish for Chinese New Year along with some mee suah and it disappeared pretty fast. Late comers missed out, so folks….the lesson here is, always be on time for a dinner party!
KAKIAGE
Ingredients;
Tempura Batter;
2/3 cup tempura flour
Cold water
Dashi powder, 1 small packet
White Pepper
Vegetables;
White onions, sliced thinly
Cabbage, shredded
Nori Seaweed, cut into strips (optional)
Scallions, chopped
Carrots shredded
Salt
Pepper
Shimichi seasoning (for heat but optional)
Oil for frying
Steps;
1. Mix batter together until you get a batter consistency that flows down slowly from the spoon when you lift it up. It has to be a smooth flow and not beaded drips.
2. Mix all your veges together and add your seasoning.
3. Pour the batter to the vege gradually (I do it this way so to ensure I don’t pour too much batter and end up too wet with too much batter), mix. The veges should not be submerged by the batter, they should still be visible but coated by the batter.
4. Heat oil in pot till frying temperature. Use tongs or bamboo chopsticks to grab a bundle of the vege together and place it in the hot oil. Try not to clump the vegetable to thick together. Hold it together while frying for 5 seconds before you let go. Prick the middle with satay sticks or your chopsticks to ensure it gets cooked.
5. Turn to the other side to fry evenly.
6. Take out cooked kakiages and place them on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
7. Eat while it’s hot.
Note: You can use whatever vegetables you like or even add seafood to the mix.
Enjoy!
