Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

I like refreshing soba salad like this one, but this time of the year hot steamy soba soup is delicious of course!

This is a pretty traditional Japanese dish. Everyone loves tempura soba in Japan. It’s a bold statement but it’s true (lol).

But sweet potato and basil tempura is a bit different, and you probably won’t find it on the menu at soba restaurants in Japan.

When you hear the word, tempura, a lot of people probably picture shrimp tempura, but you can make tempura with basically anything.

I love vegetable tempura and this one, made of sweet potato, onion, and basil, is a good example to show that you can mix and match various vegetables. This type of veggie tempura is called “kakiage”.

The crunchy tempura, the natural sweetness from the sweet potato, the bright orange color of the potato, and the unexpected freshness from the basil came together so well, and I loved it.

Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

soup
– 2 cups water
– 1 tablespoon Japanese shio kombu seaweed (salted kombu seaweed)
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1/2 ~ 1 tablespoon sugar
– salt
basil sweet potato tempura
– 1/3 cup julienned sweet potato
– 1/3 cup onion slices
– 1/2 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped
– tempura batter (all purpose flour, baking powder, ice water)
– canola oil, for frying
– salt
100g soba noodle, cooked
scallion, chopped
Shichimi (Japanese seven spices)

1. Make soup. Add salted kombu to water. Boil and then turn down to low heat. Add soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
2. Make tempura batter. Combine all the ingredients. Mix sweet potato, onion, and basil. Dip them into the batter. Deep fry in canola oil at 350F until cooked through and crunchy. Remove from the oil. Place on a plate lined with paper towel. Salt.
3. Serve cooked soba noodle in the soup. Place the tempura on top. Sprinkle chopped scallion and Shichimi spices.