We declare this recipe for beer tempura green onions as our official contribution to craft beer snacks and spring time brews.
In this post the quintessential German lager brewed for spring - Maibock, lends malty flavors and mild herbal notes to an airy tempura batter blanketing sweet spring green onions. Just look at them:). Beer tempura green onions perfection. The boring onion rings commonly seen on bar appetizer menus don't even come close.
Chris and I have been drinking maibock since mid April. We admit that we are most fortunate to have easy access to two absolutely stellar examples of this classic German strong spring lager in our area.
Maibock (aka Helles Bock) is the lightest member of the bock family, hence the name (Helles Bock translates to light bock). It is THE German lager of spring, often referred to as Frühlingsbock (bock of spring.)
Maibock is not very sweet and lacks the warm alcohol burn of Doppelbock. This is not to say it lacks potency as it has a respectable ABV - most Maibocks come in around 7%. The alcohol is there, you just wouldn't know it because it tastes so crisp and refreshing.
The Prost Maibock we are using in this post is truly one of our favorite beers ever. It is brewed with traditional Hallertau hops (signature German Noble hops with low alpha acid content and known for their herbal, grassy and earthy aromas). It is a seasonal brew and we literally have to ration it and write our respective names on each bottle to avoid arguments.
On to the beer tempura green onions and the batter in which we use Prost Maibock. Yes, it is not easy to dedicate an entire bottle, but we justified it by buying another six-pack. To begin with, we believe from the bottom of our hearts that no tempura batter is complete without a beer in it. Period. This is our truth. When it comes to cooking with beer adding lagers or ales to batters is a fundamental practice. And the beer better be packed with flavor:)
We used Maibock in this instance because it is May, there are fresh spring onions and spring lager is available, duh.. but our beer tempura green onions taste just as good when made with several other styles available year round. We recommend traditional pilsners brewed with Noble hops, Kolsch style ales, Helles lagers, Dunkels, Vienna style lagers. They all have sweet-ish and bready-ish flavors with a touch of herbal/fresh hay notes. But honestly, if you wanted to use a porter in the batter and as dipping sauce some awesome Mexican mole, I think you will be more than happy.
The dipping sauce for our beer tempura green onions is totally up to you. Mustard anyone? Ponzu? When we use sesame oil in a tempura batter (such as is the case here) we like to combine soy sauce, a good squeeze of lime juice and a generous dash of sriracha sauce with toasted sesame seeds.
As a rule of thumb just consider the type of beer you are using in the tempura batter as well as the flavors of the oil you are adding to it and choose a dipping sauce accordingly.
Do let us know how your beer tempura green onions turned out. Please do. Especially if you used a Maibock. Prost everyone!
Recipe
Beer Tempura Green Onions (with Sesame Soy Sriracha Dipping Sauce)
Ingredients
- 3 bunches of green onions 4 if onions are too thin
- 3 cups of coconut or vegetable oil for frying
TEMPURA BATTER:
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 12 oz ice-cold beer Maibock, Pilsner, Helles, Vienna lager, Kolsch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
DIPPING SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ lime juice of
- sriracha sauce to taste
- toasted sesame seeds to taste
Instructions
- Clean the green onions. Cut off the white heads and most of the length of the green parts - you are aiming at pieces 6-7 inches long. Set aside.
- Make the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients and set aside.
- Over medium heat heat 2 cups of coconut or vegetable oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pan or a wok. Wait until the oil reaches 375 °F.
- In the meantime, in a mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Mix well.
- Add the sesame oil and the beer and stir until combined. Small flour 'chunks' are OK.
- Once the oil reaches 375 °F dip four green onions in the batter until completely covered and drop them in the oil.
- Fry for just over a minute, until you see that the batter begins to turn golden.
- Remove from the oil and set to drain over paper towels.
- Continue with the rest of the green onions, working in batches of 4.
- Serve while still hot and enjoy with your favorite beer.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
Wow - I bet the beer makes that tempura so light!
Loreto Nardelli
Hi Milena you had me at green onion. Nicoletta will tell you that I am somewhat addicted to onion, that may be so but in my defense I can truly say that onions add such a robust and sweet flavor to any dish and that green onion has such a fresh vibrant taste. With that all being said, I can only imagine these all crispy and golden and that dip with its salty and acidic notes and the sesame oil and toasted sesame are great additions. I am salivating. I am so glad that I stumbled upon this recipe. Love it!
LOreto@sugarlovespices.
CraftBeering
Lol! Thank you Loreto! I feel much the same about green onions. Cannot leave the produce section without a few bunches.
Amber Harrop
Beer makes a great tempura batter - I used it on Zucchini flowers and I love the look of this recipe too
CraftBeering
The best tempura batter:) OMG, I wish I could get my hands on some zucchini flowers, sounds too good!
Leanna
This is a fantastic recipe and makes me wonder why I never thought of it. Cannot wait to try it.
CraftBeering
You will love them Leanna! They taste so much better than regular onion rings!
kristin mccarthy
This is one hell of a snack!
#alittlebitofeverything
CraftBeering
Thanks, Kristin:)
annie@ciaochowbambina
This has my name written all over it! Anything tempura'd makes me happy! And green onions are an absolute favorite! Pinned!
CraftBeering
Thanks, Annie! I feel the same about green onions, they are just the best!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I love tempura!! And because you used veggies, it's totally healthy, right 😉 ? Ok, maybe not so much, but I could still eat a whole bunch of this! Love that you used sesame oil in the batter too. I think I'd have to double this recipe cause I wouldn't want to share 🙂
CraftBeering
Hehe! Of course Dawn!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
Oooohhh I love tempura anything! I don't think I've ever had tempura green onions though. These look totally dangerous :). Have a great long weekend, Milena!
CraftBeering
Thank you Kelsie, hope you do too! Same here - tempura is just so addictive, I even eat the small pieces without anything inside, lol!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Love! I could eat my weight in tempura vegetables 🙂 This fabulous German beer must add wonderful flavour.
CraftBeering
You and I both Jennifer! Love tempura:)
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks
I know what you mean about the space. Fortunately, we are now able to ferment both ales and lagers at home. I've brewed an ale style Doppelbock several times and it always turns out amazing! Maibocks and Doppelbocks are some of my favorites. I'm loving these beer tempura green onions! I've never actually had anything like this, but it sounds good and I agree that craft beer in the batter is a MUST! Cheers!
CraftBeering
Cheers Rachelle! I bet it's great to be able to turn your lagers at home. I've come to really appreciate the work and attention that go into brewing lagers even though I usually only assist with minor tasks:) I'm definitely much better of a beer taste tester:)