How to tell if your tempura is cooked

Tempura is a Japanese style of deep-frying that’s popular in the United States – in fact, it’s the secret technique behind McDonald’s chicken nuggets. A special batter made from flour, eggs, and ice-cold water creates a light, crispy, bumpy coating on meat (particularly shrimp) and vegetable slices fried in hot oil. The end result is a delicious dish that is crispy on the outside and soft or chewy on the inside. The great thing about tempura is that it can be easily made at home. You can make your own batter or purchase a pre-made mix like Kikkoman’s Extra Crispy Tempura Batter Mix. But like any frying, the hard part is figuring out when your shrimp, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms are ready to eat. To clear things up, Chowhound asked Billy Wang, the owner of New York’s Sanuki Udon, for advice.

Coming from a family of restaurateurs, Wang opened the dedicated fast-casual noodle bar where you build your udon bowl using your favorite ingredients, much like you would at Chipotle or Sweetgreen. It’s a popular dining style at Japanese udon noodle stations, but new to New York. Since the menu includes an extensive tempura section, Wang shared a few tips and tricks with us to ensure your shrimp and vegetables end up fully cooked and perfectly tender. Essentially, you’re looking for visible and audible changes in the interaction between the hot oil and the tempura batter. Taking these signs into account, you can skewer the yam slices to see if they are soft inside.

Although tempura batter is special (it’s the cold water that creates the “lumpy” consistency), the goal is the same as when making fried fish or fried hot dogs. The hard part is knowing when an individual piece is done and ready to eat. Because shrimp cooks quickly and the vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked, it’s less about food safety and more about ensuring the texture and flavor are just right when cooked. That means you should watch for the dough’s color to turn a light gold, but also keep an eye on the bubbles, says Billy Wang.

“Observe the appearance of the tempura and the behavior of the bubbles around it,” says Wang. “If the bubbles become smaller and the frying sound becomes quieter, that’s usually a sign that the tempura is cooked.” This is because every piece of meat or vegetable that is cooked releases steam into the oil. This creates the frying bubbles that you see around the food as it cooks. By the time the food finishes cooking, most of its moisture has evaporated, so the steam power diminishes and the bubbles get smaller until they disappear. This is the sign that your tempura is ready. Once the bubbles stop completely, oil seeps into the food, leaving everything with a greasy taste. Want to amp up the crunch? Use lemonade instead of ice water in your dough.