There are dishes you learn in hotel management college that you forget the moment the practical exam is over. And then there are dishes that stop you mid-class and make you think — how is this possible?
Tempura was that dish for me. Third year at IHM Chennai. Food production practical. A chef held up two ingredients. Cold water. All-purpose flour. That was it. No spices, no baking powder, no elaborate preparation. Just those two things combined quickly, kept cold, and used immediately.
I could not believe that something so simple could produce something so good. The batter was barely there — thin, almost translucent, delicate. When the vegetables hit the oil, they came out with a crispness I had never achieved with any Indian batter. No heaviness. No greasiness. Just a light, shattering crust around whatever was inside.
The two rules
I went home that week and made it for myself. Zucchini, carrots, whatever was in the fridge. Worked perfectly. That was the moment I understood something important about cooking — that restraint is a technique. That sometimes less is not just enough, it is the whole point.
A Japanese dish, learned in a Chennai classroom, made in a Chennai kitchen. Still one of the simplest things I know how to make.
The recipe
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
- 1 cup cold water — as cold as possible, use ice water
- Assorted vegetables: zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, sweet potato
- Oil for deep frying
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp grated ginger (optional)
- 2 tbsp water
- Prep the vegetables. Slice all vegetables into thin, uniform pieces — about 5mm thick. Thin enough to cook through in the frying time.
- Make the dipping sauce first. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, water, and ginger. Stir until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- Heat the oil. Heat oil in a deep pan to around 180°C. No thermometer? Drop a tiny bit of batter in — it should sizzle and rise immediately.
- Make the batter just before frying. Combine cold water and flour in a bowl. Mix briefly with chopsticks or a fork — do not overmix. Lumps are fine. This is important.
- Dip and fry. Dip each vegetable piece into the batter, let excess drip off, lower gently into the oil. Fry in small batches, 2 minutes per side until just barely golden. Tempura should be pale gold, not dark.
- Drain and serve within minutes. Tempura does not wait.
The reason this dish matters is not the recipe. It is the principle. Once you understand that restraint produces a lighter result than addition, you start applying that logic to every dish you make. You start asking: what can I remove? What does this dish need less of? The tempura batter is the answer to those questions.