【Surprisingly Easy】I Tried Making Tempura with Daiso's "Mestin Fryer" to Celebrate the Arrival of Spring

Spring brings seasonal vegetables like leaves and watercress. I took on the challenge of making freshly fried tempura to best enjoy these seasonal flavors. Can I make tempura using the "Mestin Fryer" sold at Daiso?

Challenging seasonal tempura with Daiso's "Mesting Fryer"

The other day, I discovered a direct sales shop for agricultural products while driving. As if drawn in, I stepped inside the store and found "nanohana" and "watercress," which welcome the spring. Even though I still felt like it was winter, the shelves in the store seemed to already be in spring mode. So, I thought I would simply make tempura to savor the seasonal flavors.

At home, I had a "Mesting Fryer" that I bought from Daiso. I had gotten it thinking I would use it for a day camp in April, but it seems its time has come a little early.

By the way, the "Mesting Fryer" is a dedicated frying basket that can be set in a mesting. You will also need a mesting to put the fryer in.

Product name / Mestin Fryer (for 1.5 go mestin)
Price / 550 yen
Material / Body: Stainless steel, Grip: Polyvinyl chloride resin
Size / 15.2 × 8.8 × 5.2 cm
● Daiso Sangyo

Starting to make tempura

Since it's a precious opportunity, I'll try frying tempura while enjoying the spring weather in the garden. Here's what I've prepared this time.

・Rice flour… 100g
・Cold water… 150ml
・Egg… 1
・Oil… As needed
・Rape blossoms, watercress, shiso leaves… As needed

I washed the rape blossoms and watercress and cut them into manageable sizes. I also had some shiso leaves in the fridge at home, so I decided to fry them together.

Today, I really want to taste spring with tempura. However, I have a bit of a complex about making tempura. No matter how many times I try, I have never been able to achieve that crispy texture like in restaurants. So, when I did a little research, I found out that using rice flour can help achieve a nice crunch. Maybe even a beginner like me can make delicious tempura with this!?

Let's get started on making the batter. After putting the ingredients in a bowl, the key is to mix them roughly so that a few lumps remain.

With a mess tin, you can make tempura with just a small amount of oil

Considering the aftermath, I’ll use as little oil as possible. Once heated to 170°C, we are ready to go. Actually, I was thinking of frying with solid fuel for next week's day camp, but I found out that frying can be a bit dangerous due to unstable heat. So here, I'll safely use my beloved portable gas stove.

Finally, I threw in the canola flowers that had passed through the batter! The moment they hit the oil, it seemed the moisture hadn’t been fully wiped off, causing them to pop and sizzle. Thankfully, since I was wearing sleeves, I avoided any mishap, but just thinking about what might have happened if I had been in short sleeves sends shivers down my spine.

Before I knew it, the popping sound settled down, signaling that they were ready to eat. The canola flowers turned a vibrant fresh green, and I had to resist the urge to take a bite right away...

Just lifting the entire mess tin fryer made for a quick and easy draining of the oil! Even the delicate leafy tempura transferred beautifully to the plate. I can hardly believe how smoothly the tempura-making is going.

The slightly bitter taste of spring alongside a beer

The tempura of seasonal canola flowers and watercress, wrapped in a crispy coating, is complete. Since it’s a special occasion, let’s enjoy it with the limited-edition beer from Hokkaido that my family gave me and some homemade inari sushi. Facing this perfect combination, I can’t help but smile.

Ahh… I wash down the slightly bitter taste of spring with a crisp, cold beer. What a happy moment it is. I was worried about the tempura, but it has turned out with a crunchy texture. I can’t believe my skills have improved, so this must be thanks to the rice flour.

Making tempura in the mess tin is also convenient because of its compact size, making post-cooking cleanup easy. Besides tempura, it could also be used to boil somen noodles or for steaming dishes. There’s no doubt it will come in handy during next week’s day camp! I’m planning to add it to my packing right away.

Search Mestin Fryer on Amazon