Light and crispy sweet potato tempura just like your favorite Japanese restaurant. This easy and delicious appetizer or side dish is made without eggs and the batter can be used to make vegetable tempura.
In a small saucepan, bring dipping sauce ingredients to a boil and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
In a skillet, heat 1 inch of oil on medium high heat to 375°F.
While the oil is heating up, prepare two bowls. One with ¼ cup of flour and another with ½ cup of flour mixed with ½ cup of cold water. The tempura batter should be the consistency of thin pancake batter and small clumps are fine. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time if needed.
Dip slices of sweet potato into the flour then into the batter. Let the excess batter drip back into the bowl.
Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side then drain on a wire rack and season with salt. Repeat with remaining sweet potatoes.
Serve the sweet potato tempura immediately with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Use cold water. We want to minimize gluten development in the batter to ensure a light and crispy coating.
Fry in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan or the temperature of the oil will drop too low resulting in a less crispy coating.
You can also dip these in soy sauce or spicy mayo.