Kakiage (Tempura Fritters) For the Holidays

By Nancy Eisman
In kitchens the world over, in honor of Hanukkah’s miracle of the oil, a mixture of potatoes and onions in an egg batter are fried up and enthusiastically eaten during the 8 days of the holiday. I love latkes as much as anyone, but eight nights of potato pancakes borders on too much of a good thing (plus, we don’t use eggs here at Plant-Based 411). So, I’m offering up another Japanese-inspired recipe (see my Mazeman recipe post for October) to serve up something savory in a similar yet slightly different way.

Kakiage (ka kee ah geh) is traditionally a mixed vegetable fritter in a tempura batter. Introduced to the Japanese by the Portuguese over 400 years ago, tempura is a classic dish on restaurant menus worldwide. It is also a popular home-cooked recipe, and it makes for a crowd-pleasing hors d’eouvre, appetizer or main dish.

While tempura uses larger pieces of a variety of deep-fried vegetables, for Kakiage you can use as few as 2 different vegetables, one being some type of onion, just making sure everything is cut uniformly into matchstick-sized pieces. Also known as a great clean-out-the-fridge dish, even with leftovers Kakiage will still get the oohs and ahs you want from family and friends during the holidays.

This special Hanukkah edition of Kakiage stays somewhat true to classic latke ingredients and features two types of potatoes and two types of onions. There’s even a soy sour cream and an apple cider sauce for dipping the Kakiage, reminiscent of traditional potato pancakes. And if you don’t celebrate Hanukah, consider some of these tempura fritters for your Christmas festivities, maybe using some long red peppers and some green beans to suit the seasonal color palate.

No matter which holiday you celebrate and which dishes are on your holiday table, best wishes for a delicious season of plant-based eating, making warm and wonderful memories to treasure always.

KAKIAGE (Tempura Fritters)
Ingredients
Vegetable oil (to cover the pan about 1 ½" deep + 2 teaspoons untoasted sesame oil)

For the Soy Sour Cream:
1 box (12 oz.) Mori Nu Silken Tofu
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch of wasabi powder
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Blend all the ingredients together until well combined and creamy. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until needed.

Apple Cider Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce):
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons apple butter
2 tablespoons tamari
¾ cup apple cider
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the hot liquid and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add this mixture back into the saucepan and whisk everything together. Return the sauce to a boil for another minute until thickened. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the Batter:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 ¼ cups iced-cold sparkling water
In a large bowl, combine the flour and the cornstarch. Add in the water and gently stir to combine, being careful not to over mix, until the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter. Set aside.

For the Vegetables:
3 organic russet potatoes, peeled & cut into matchsticks
2 Japanese Murasaki sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into matchsticks
1 1/2 organic sweet onions, cut into matchsticks
1 bunch Tokyo Negi (Japanese Long Onion) or 1 bunch bulb green onions, cut into matchsticks
1 ¾ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of white pepper

Preparation
Soak the cut vegetables in ice water for 10 minutes to keep the vegetables crisp and to remove excess starch. Drain the vegetables and pat dry to remove the moisture. Add the vegetables to a bowl and toss with the flour and white pepper to coat. Transfer the floured mixed vegetables into the batter bowl and stir until the vegetables are evenly coated in the batter.
Heat the vegetable and sesame oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Test the oil by adding a tiny amount of batter to it. If it jumps and sizzles, it’s ready.
Carefully fill a serving spoon with the battered vegetables. Transfer the mixture onto a spatula and lower the spatula into the hot oil, gently pushing the mixture off the spatula. Fry for 2 ½ minutes per side, then transfer the kakiage to a wire rack to drain excess oil. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the kakiage hot with the sour cream and apple tentsuyu on the side for dipping.