Vegetable tempura with chile dipping sauce

Special equipment • wok

Serves 4

For the chile dipping sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 garlic clove, finely grated

2 fresh Thai or other red hot chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 eggplants, sliced into thin rounds

2–3 zucchini, cut into sticks 2½in (6cm) long and ½in (1cm) wide

2 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped

about 2 cups vegetable or sunflower oil for frying

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

3/4 –1 cup ice water

Method:

1 First, make the dipping sauce. Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, oil, sugar, garlic, and chiles, and season with salt and pepper.

2 Once you have prepared all the vegetables, pour the oil into a wok, and heat until very hot but not smoking.

3 Meanwhile, make the batter. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and ¾-1 cup ice water. Don’t over-mix; it doesn’t matter if the batter is a little lumpy.

4 Drop a little of the batter into the oil, to test whether the oil is hot enough it should sizzle right away and become crisp. Dip the vegetable pieces one by one into the batter, and shake away the excess batter. Carefully add to the oil, a few at a time, and fry for 2–3 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon, and keep warm on a baking sheet lined with paper towels until all the vegetables are cooked. Serve immediately with the chile dipping sauce.

Vegetable tempura with chile dipping sauce