Tempura Zucchini Blossoms

A summer love affair with deep frying

Photo: Abi Lynch

I’ve always been fairly allergic to the idea of deep frying anything at home, the mess didn’t seem worth the fuss. But I’m happily abandoning that notion this year and embracing the delight of dropping all manner of delicious things into a pot of hot oil. There are, in fact, many things to love about deep frying in the comfort of your own home, not least that you can choose your oil and know that it has only been heated once, making it infinitely better for your health. And there is nothing like a little hot crispy-fried salty snack washed down with an ice cold beverage on a hot day.

My favourite is to dip all manner of vegetables into a light tempura batter and drop them into the oil until golden brown. Cabbage has been the unexpected favourite in our house, reminiscent of an onion ring with its sweetness and texture. A sauce to dip can be nice, but not essential. A little herby salt is also fun, and doesn’t take anything more than mixing some finely chopped herbs- rosemary is a favourite- and /or lemon zest though salt.

I think the key to deep frying at home is to not over think it. You can can really stress yourself out worrying about oil temperature and batter consistency, but if you treat it like anything else in the kitchen and just adjust as you go, there’s not too much to worry about.

I like to use olive oil to fry in, a lighter flavored, un-precious olive oil, nothing too fancy. Olive oil burns around 420 (210C) degrees and deep frying happens somewhere around 350 (180C), so there’s no need to worry about it burning. I also use a fairly small pot and fry in small batches so that I don’t have to use toooooooo much, because oil of any kind in expensive and I can’t handle the waste.

As for batter, the only real rule I have is to make it as close to cooking as possible. It only takes a minute to whisk together so that’s really not difficult. It’s made of just flour, salt and sparkling water, and the fizzier the water the better- sorry Pellegrino but Topo Chico makes a much better batter if you have the option.

Photo: Abi Lynch

Photo: Abi Lynch

photo: Abi Lynch