Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (2024)

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Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (1)

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Kakiage is a kind of Tempura dish with a variety of chopped vegetables and seafood. This deep-friedroundfood has a much more casual feeling than Tempura you may know, but it is as deliciousas Tempura.

Tempura is one of the most famous Japanese foods outside Japan. It is battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables. Tempura can be as formal as you want it to be at very expensive Tempura specialty restaurants in Japan. Kakiage, on the other hand, is made from thinly-cut or chopped vegetables and small pieces ofseafood mixed with Tempura batter and deep-fried. It is a great dish to use up left over vegetables hiding in the corner of the fridge.

You can use any vegetables that don’t have too muchmoisture. Root vegetables like Gobo, lotus root, carrots, and sweet potatoes are goodfor Kakiage, but you can experiment with whatever ingredients you like of course. It tastes better to mix different kinds of veggies In Kakiage rather than using one kind, but you need to cut them in similar small pieces so that they will be cooked at the same time. You don’t need to, but cut-up shrimp, squid, or scallop aregreat additional flavors inthis dish.

Kakiage can be eaten, just like Tempura, with Tempura sauce (our Mentsuyu), but it is also used as a topping for Udon or Soba noodles and Donburi (rice bowl) dish.

Although Kakiage is very easy and cheap to make, it’s not inferior to Tempura at all. Try it, and you’ll love it!

Kakiage Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: tempura

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup Gobo thinly shaved
  • 1/2 cup carrot thinly cut
  • 1/2 cup brown onion roughly diced
  • 1/3 cup green beans thinly cut
  • 6 shrimp cut into small pieces
  • 1-2 Tbsp cake flour
  • pinch of salt
  • frying oil
  • Mentsuyu

Tempura batter

  • 1 cup 240ml cup cake flour
  • 3 Tbsp Katakuriko potato starch or cornstarch
  • 1 cup 240ml ice water

Instructions

  • Put prepared vegetables and shrimp in a large bow, add 1-2 Tbsp cake flour and salt, and coat vegetables well with flour.

  • For Tempura batter, mix flour, Katakuriko or cornstarch, and water in a different bowl. Do not over mix. Pour batter on the vegetable mix.

  • Put oil in a pan to 1-2cm deep, heat at medium high. Drop a couple of spoonfuls of battered vegetables into oil and fry for 5-6 minutes turning once or twice.

Video


tempura

June 20, 2015 By JapaneseCooking101

Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (4)

About JapaneseCooking101

Noriko and Yuko, the authors of this site, are both from Japan but now live in California. They love cooking and eating great food, and share a similar passion for home cooking using fresh ingredients.Noriko and Yuko plan and develop recipes together for Japanese Cooking 101. They cook and shoot photos/videos at their home kitchen(s.)

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  • Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (8)

    Christina Knudson

    October 31, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    Hi! I am an American living in Japan and have been following your site ever since I moved here. I am getting more familiar with Japanese cooking thanks to your videos, so thank you very much! I am interested in making this recipe but I don’t know what the cake flour is called in Japan. Is it literally ケーキの米? or is there another name? Thank you so much!!!

  • Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (9)

    Tommy Sharpens

    November 2, 2016 at 8:38 am

    Wow! Ate a delicious kaki age don at Kozo Sushi in Kahala Mall and now one at the Kozo by Walmart in Waikiki. Awesome! Now I have to get one at the King street Kozo. I sharpen their knives however; every time I sharpen for them I walk past the pictures on the windows and now I am hooked. Are there any Kakiage programs to help me get free from this love of Kakiage if I get too hooked. For me Kakiage Tempura is like a funnel cake without the sugar and lots of great veggies. So glad I tried this delicious dish however; I am starting to feel like an addicted person. Aloha; from Tommy Sharpens in Waianae. MSEd a 70 year young Retired counselor with a positive delicious addiction.

  • Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (10)

    Loc

    December 29, 2016 at 2:37 am

    Hi, in kakiage recipe, you mention cake flour as one of the ingredients. If I don’t have cake flour, can I use just wheat flour instead. Or if you can use other types of flour to replace cake flour? Thank you

  • Kakiage Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (2024)

    FAQs

    What is a kakiage in Japanese? ›

    Kakiage or kaki-age (かき揚げ, 掻き揚げ or かきあげ), a Japanese dish, is a type of tempura. It is made by batter-dipping and deep-frying a batch of ingredients such as shrimp bits (or a clump of small-sized shrimp).

    What is the difference between tempura and kakiage? ›

    A : Kakiage is a type of tempura. Tempura is typically characterized by its individual pieces of lightly battered seafood or vegetables however kakiage consists of various ingredients mixed together in a fritter-like form. It's still delicate and light like other tempura but is more substantial.

    What is Kakiage made of? ›

    This vegetable tempura or Kakiage (かき揚げ) is a light and crispy Japanese fritter made with onions, carrots, green beans and mushrooms held together in a delicate matrix of tempura batter.

    What is the difference between tempura batter and regular batter? ›

    Tempura batter is made from three key ingredients: flour, egg, and cold water. The main difference between tempura batter and conventional batter is that tempura batter uses significantly less oil and no breadcrumbs. With Tempura batter, you'll get a delicate, crispy result that is lighter than conventional batter.

    What is tempura called in Japan? ›

    Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura, [tempɯɾa]) is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried.

    What is a kakiage tempura? ›

    Kakiage, which means "gathered and deep-fried" in Japanese, is a tempura made with sliced vegetables and sometimes seafood. This light and crispy tempura combines shrimp, onions, carrots and herbs and looks similar to a fritter.

    Why is tempura unhealthy? ›

    Deep-fried tempura poses health risks due to acrylamide formation, weight gain, and disease risks. Opt for healthier alternatives like grilling or steaming, using whole-grain batters, or substituting veggies. Ramen can lead to high sodium intake, impacting blood pressure.

    How do you eat Kakiage? ›

    You've found yourself on a vegan recipe blog and only a wimp would kill a shrimp, so here we're doing Yasai (野菜 meaning vegetable) Kakiage to be specific. How do I serve it? Eat on its own as a snack with soy sauce or your favourite dip, or use as a sushi filling/nigiri topping.

    What is the secret of tempura? ›

    The secret of the lightness of the tempura is all in the thermal shock: the batter must be worked (a little) in a metal bowl placed in a larger bowl full of ice. A similar rule must be also applied to the vegetables or fish you want to fry: better keep them in the refrigerator until the moment before cooking.

    What is a Japanese dish of battered deep fried vegetables? ›

    It is super light and airy, and these vegetables are coated with only a very thin layer of batter. Tempura is a popular Japanese dish, and usually consists of seafood, meat, and vegetables that are battered and deep-fried.

    What oil is tempura cooked in? ›

    Use vegetable oil for frying tempura — corn, canola, safflower or peanut, but not olive oil. Sesame oil is highly fragrant and adding a couple of tablespoons or more can add its perfume to your tempura. You can reuse the oil a couple of times.

    Why do you put radish in tempura sauce? ›

    Tempura sauce is a simple sauce made from only a few ingredients. It is light and clear, and a bit salty and sweet to taste. A bit of grated daikon (radish) gives it a special zip, making for a great accompaniment that won't overpower your tempura or weigh down its light-as-air batter.

    Why do you put cold water in tempura batter? ›

    Regardless of whether you decide to use a flour mix or to create your own batter, the key to nailing the perfect tempura batter is to use icy cold water. This slows down the formation of gluten to prevent the crust from absorbing too much oil and turning your tempura into heavy, fried food.

    Why is my tempura batter not crispy? ›

    To make crispy tempura batter, use low-protein flour. It is low in gluten, a protein that negatively affects the texture of the batter. Cake flour is one of the best for making the batter. All-purpose flour works too, but not as well.

    Why do you put ice cubes in tempura batter? ›

    2. Keep the batter cold. Adding ice cubes to your tempura mixture will also slow the flour's absorption of water, since water can't be absorbed in its solid state.

    What is the name of the Japanese mustard greens? ›

    A member of the brassica family, mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica) is also called Japanese mustard greens, California pepper grass, and spider mustard. While thought to have originated in China, mizuna has been grown in Japan for centuries. Mizuna means "water greens'' in Japanese.

    What is thanks for the food in Japanese? ›

    Before eating, you say, Itadakimasu” (いただきます), which means Let's eat or Bon Appétit, and at the conclusion of your meal, you say Gochisosama (ごちそうさま), which means thanks for the delicious meal.

    What is Osaka fried food called? ›

    Kushikatsu is deep-fried, battered food on skewers - the perfect drinking food. Here's our list of recommended kushikatsu restaurants in Osaka. Kushikatsu refers to a genre of deep-fried, battered skewered food that you eat dipped in a thin, black, sweet-tangy sauce.

    What is the Japanese word for breaded meat and vegetables? ›

    4. Tempura. If you enjoy crispy fried foods, then you will love tempura. Tempura are pieces or slices of meat, fish, and/or vegetables that have been covered in a special tempura batter and deep fried until they become crunchy and pale gold in colour.

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