Steps

1. Heat frying oil to 160 degrees Celsius and prepare.
   🕒 00:12
2. Start frying thicker vegetables (sweet potato and pumpkin) at around 160 degrees Celsius. For other vegetables, aim for 175 degrees Celsius.
   🕒 00:19
3. Lightly dust smooth-surfaced vegetables like sweet potato and pumpkin with all-purpose flour (for dusting), and shake off excess flour. 【This is the key!】 By firmly shaking off excess flour, the batter adheres better and the tempura fries up crispy.
   🕒 00:33
4. Dip the floured sweet potato and pumpkin into the tempura batter. Apply a slightly thick coat of batter.
   🕒 00:49
5. Place in oil at 160 degrees Celsius and fry slowly. If you're concerned about frying, you can pre-heat them in the microwave.
   🕒 00:52
6. Coat only the back half of the shiitake mushroom with batter. Do not coat the front.
   🕒 01:26
7. Place the shiitake mushroom in the oil and fry.
   🕒 01:38
8. Coat the shimeji mushroom with batter, then shake off excess batter.
   🕒 01:48
9. Fry the shimeji mushroom in the oil, allowing the batter to set.
   🕒 02:00
10. Coat the enoki mushroom with batter, shake off excess, and aim for a thin coating. Dusting with flour is not necessary.
    🕒 02:07
11. Place the enoki mushroom in the oil and fry.
    🕒 02:18
12. Lightly dust eggplant with all-purpose flour (for dusting), then dip in tempura batter.
    🕒 02:20
13. Fry the eggplant in the oil, allowing the batter to set.
    🕒 02:29
14. Coat the maitake mushroom with batter, then place in the oil and fry.
    🕒 02:48
15. Dust the perilla leaf with all-purpose flour (for dusting), then coat the back half. 【This is the key!】 Coating over the dusted surface results in crispy tempura.
    🕒 02:56
16. Firmly shake off any excess batter from the perilla leaf.
    🕒 03:12
17. Place the perilla leaf in the oil and fry.
    🕒 03:20
18. While frying, gently separate any excess batter with a spatula or by turning the tempura. This helps to drain excess oil.
    🕒 03:40
19. Avoid stirring the tempura too frequently. Fry until done after flipping once.
    🕒 04:30
20. When the bubbles become smaller and larger bubbles start to appear from thicker ingredients (like sweet potato), it's a sign that they are done.
    🕒 04:59
21. Remove the fried tempura from the oil.
    🕒 05:18
22. To preserve the oil, remove as much tempura bits (tenkasu) as possible after frying.
    🕒 05:43
23. The removed tempura bits can be frozen and used in dishes like udon, soba, or okonomiyaki.
    🕒 05:54