Asparagus tempura, seaweed mayonnaise

By Guillaume Diotte
2 min read
Tempura d'asperges, mayonnaise aux algues

Asparagus tempura, seaweed mayonnaise

The beautiful season is coming, and with it, the abundance of good fresh vegetables! Needless to say, you can adapt this recipe with your favorite vegetable, or the one you have on hand! Or maybe a mixture of all of these? This recipe comes from the Ouest France website for the mayonnaise portion, and for the tempura mixture, we used the recipe from David Giroux, from La Tablée des Chefs , available on the Radio-Canada Mordu website .

Photo credit: Julien Mota

  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • flower of salt
  • frying oil

For the mayonnaise

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp. of Un Océan de Saveurs Fisherman's Blend Seaweed Flakes (or other seaweed of your choice)
  • 200 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the tempura batter

  • 1 cup all-purpose or pastry flour
  • ¾ cup ice water
  • 1 pinch of salt

For the mayonnaise

  1. Place the egg yolk, mustard, salt, pepper, and seaweed flakes in a bowl. Whisk together and drizzle in the oil. Finish with the cider vinegar. Make sure to make the mayonnaise well in advance to give the seaweed time to rehydrate.

For the asparagus

  1. Trim and blanch the asparagus in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes. They should remain crisp. Drain them on paper towels.

For the tempura batter

  1. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl.

  2. In another bowl, mix the egg with the cold water.

  3. Pour the egg and water mixture over the flour. Add the salt.

  4. Mix with a whisk until the flour is incorporated into the liquid, but no more. (It's normal if some lumps remain.) *See note*

  5. Dip the asparagus into the mixture and fry gradually for 1 to 2 minutes (the color will remain quite pale for frying). Place them on absorbent paper after cooking.

  6. Serve immediately with seaweed mayonnaise.

To achieve the perfect crispiness, don't overbeat your batter. Few batter recipes are free from flour lumps, so take advantage of them! In fact, tempura batter is so fine that lumps add texture. Overbeating also releases gluten from the flour too quickly; gluten weighs down the batter and robs it of the desired airiness. Thanks, Bitten !