Make this super crispy chicken tempura or Japanese style crispy fried chicken at home in under 15 minutes from scratch. Serve it with a dipping sauce for the most delicious appetizer.
Pound 2 boneless chicken breasts using a meat pounder until they are equal in thickness.
Cut the pounded chicken breasts into thin strips using a sharp serrated knife.
Mix the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, salt & pepper to taste, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium-size mixing bowl and keep aside.
To make the tempura batter, add 2 egg yolks, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornstarch, and 2 and ½ cups of ice-cold water in a bowl. Using two chopsticks, mix and make a thin batter. Make sure to not over-mix the batter. A few lumps are fine.
Note – The reason to use chopsticks to mix the batter is to avoid over mixing it.
Take out ¼ cup of batter in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoon more water to it and mix well. Keep this thinned-out batter aside.
Heat oil for frying in a pan. Use any neutral oil for frying.
Transfer ½ cup all-purpose flour in a shallow plate. Once the oil is very hot, dredge the chicken strips with the flour, then dip in tempura batter and leave the strips in hot oil.
Repeat the process with 4-5 stripes. Once the chicken is lightly browned, sprinkle some thinned-out batter in the pan around the strips using your fingers. This thinned-out batter will stick around the chicken and will make a mesh-like texture around the strips making them super crispy. It will also keep them crispy for a long time.
Fry the chicken strips until they are browned and crisp. Drain them on a tissue-lined plate. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken. Serve hot with a dipping sauce.
Notes
Some people use cake flour and potato starch in place of all-purpose flour and cornstarch to make the batter. Potato starch absorbs less moisture, so it keeps the tempura crispy for a longer time. Cake flour has less gluten which also makes it crispy.Do not over mix the batter. This is a very very important step to get crispy tempura.The chilled batter is very important. Use ice-cold water to make the batter. Do not make the batter and keep it. Use it immediately.You can use veggies, fish, shrimp in place of chicken.Replace some of the water with club soda, light beer or ginger ale. It will also help to make crispier tempura.