Step 1

Peel sweet potato (or other vegetable) and slice into rounds NO THICKER than 1/4 inch.

Step 2

Soak root veggies in water while you prep other foods to wash off excess starch.

Step 3

Optional step for shrimp: make shallow slices crosswise along the underside of the shrimp. Using your fingers, stretch out the shrimp so that it lies straight, instead of curled. Traditional shrimp tempura is always straight, but you can skip this step if you don't care for it. The taste will be the same.

Step 4

Optional step 2 for shrimp: Soak prepped shrimp in sake while you make the batter to remove fishy smells prior to cooking.

Step 5

In a bowl, mix water, mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup of the flour.

Step 6

Mix salt and remaining 1/2 cup flour in separate bowl.

Step 7

While you preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F, dip your fillings into the wet batter.

Step 8

Take your battered shrimp or vegetables and dip them into the dry flour/salt mix. Add more flour as necessary to lightly coat the outside of your tempura. The flour coating helps prevent the battered food from sticking to each other or to the air fryer basket. A thicker, dryer batter also prevents it from completely flying off the food when you air fry.

Step 9

Place tempura into the preheated air fryer basket, taking care to not overcrowd the basket. You will probably need to do this in batches.

Step 10

Spray with canola oil spray and air fry at 350 degrees. Shrimp tempura takes 8 minutes. Root vegetables take 10.

Step 11

Serve hot with tempura dipping sauce (can be purchased or homemade) and rice, or as a side to noodle dishes and bentos.