Vegetable Tempura with Lemon Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

This recipe for vegetable tempura with lemon sour cream dipping sauce is from episode 13 of This Food That Wine.

Wine Suggestion: Gruner Veltliner 

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Vegetable Tempura

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold sparkling water (250ml)
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine (30ml)
• 1 cup all purpose flour (250ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5ml)
• 4 cups of vegetable oil or peanut oil (1000ml)
• A variety of seasonal vegetables (as you like) such as:
• 2 baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise
• 7 button mushrooms, halved or whole if small
• 1 Japanese eggplant, cut in ¼ inch (6mm) slices
• 12 snow peas
• 1 red pepper cut into ½ inch (12mm) strips
• 1 cup broccoli florets (250ml)

Lemon Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream (250ml)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15ml)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped (15ml)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon, segmented into wedges

Directions

1. Beat the egg and mix it with the sparkling water and the dry white wine. Add the flour and salt and whisk until just mixed. The consistency should resemble a loose pancake batter, add more sparkling water if necessary to thin it out.
2. In a deep thick walled pan (a wok is excellent) fill about 2 inches deep with peanut oil or vegetable oil. Preheat the oil to 395 degrees F (201 degrees C).
3. Dip the vegetables into the tempura batter and then slowly add the vegetable pieces one at a time.  Continue to dip the vegetables and place in the oil.  Do not over crowd your pan.  The trick to crispy tempura is to keep the oil hot and at the required temperature.  Remove the vegetable when the batter is crispy with a hue of golden.
4. Remove the prepared vegetables from the oil using a spider and place them onto a paper towel lined tray.  Repeat with remaining vegetables.
5. For the sour cream dipping sauce whisk sour cream, lemon juice and dill together until evenly combined.  Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Tempura must be served immediately while it is still hot and crispy.
7. Serve with chilled lemon sour cream dipping sauce and lemon wedges.

Pairing Notes

Description: Grüner Veltliner (the “gru-v” wine) is a traditional Austrian grape that is taking the world by storm with its tasty flavours and food friendliness.  It is light to medium bodied, with a smooth, rich mouthfeel and lots of acidity.  It is crisp and dry and has fruity and spicy aromas and flavours of peach and white pepper with light floral notes. 

Pairing: This Grüner Veltliner has enough body to stand up to the richness of the batter.  Its acidity also cuts through the oil of this deep fried dish, and it also balances the acidity of the veggies.

Wine Suggestion: Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner 2004 (Austria)