Get ready for a delightfully light and crispy snack with this tempura mushrooms recipe! These fried shrooms are the perfect combination of crispy breaded exteriors and tender, juicy interiors, they’re sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Make sure to keep scrolling past the recipe card for a deep dive into this tempura fried mushroom recipe. We go over all the ingredients and equipment you’ll need, as well as what to do with leftovers, variations, FAQ’s and how to use.

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Tempura Mushrooms Recipe

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What are Tempura Mushrooms?

Tempura is a traditional Japanese cooking technique that involves frying various ingredients, such as vegetables, seafood, meats, in this case, mushrooms.

Tempura mushrooms are a popular Japanese dish where mushrooms are coated in a light cake batter and deep fried until crisp and golden brown. The dish is known for its delicate and airy texture, which contrasts with the umami rich flavor of the mushrooms.

Tempura mushrooms are often served as an appetizer or side dish along with a flavorful dipping sauce called Tentsuyu, which is a combination of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi. Or serve with them with your favorite dipping sauce. We think they go great with a spicy chipotle mayo.

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Best Mushrooms for Tempura

Various types of mushrooms can be used for tempura, each contributes their unique flavors and textures to the dish. The combination of the earthy mushrooms and the light, crispy batter makes tempura mushrooms a super delightful dish.

• Oyster mushrooms: Oyster mushrooms have a tender texture and a mild, slightly sweet flavor. They can develop a pleasant crispiness when fried, making them a good option for tempura.
• Enoki Mushrooms: Enoki mushrooms have delicate, thin stems and a mild flavor. They become wonderfully crispy when fried, making them a great addition to tempura dishes.
• Shiitake mushrooms: Shiitake mushrooms have a robust flavor and a meaty texture that stands up well to frying. They are a popular choice for tempura due to their umami-rich taste.
• Chanterelle Mushrooms: While they are less common in tempura, they can add a gourmet touch and a unique taste to the dish. They are a bit pricy in the store, but we harvest our own every fall here in the PNW.
• Cremini mushrooms: While not as commonly used in tempura, these mushrooms have a mild flavor and tender texture. They can work well if you prefer a more familiar mushroom taste.

Ultimately, the best type of mushrooms for tempura are the mushrooms you enjoy the most. I’m originally from the south where folks would fry sh*t like butter and Oreos, so you can fry whatever you like. Now grab your favorite type of fungi, and get ready to enjoy some deliciously crispy tempura mushrooms.

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Tempura Mushrooms Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this crispy tempura fried mushroom recipe.

• Mushrooms: It’s up to you what kind of mushrooms you want to use, but for this tempura mushroom recipe, we use oyster, shiitake, and enoki mushrooms.
• Tempura Mix: You can find tempura batter mix in most grocery stores, and certainly any asian super market. If you can’t find some, try using plain cake batter mix. Or go online, we use Kikkoman Tempura Batter Mix.
• Cold Water: It’s crucial that the water is ice cold, I leave a big cup in the fridge a few hours before I’m ready to prepare my tempura mushrooms.
• Oil: A neutral oil such as canola or vegetable oil is best for tempura mushrooms.
• Garnish: Shiso leaves or basil leaves add a nice bright green color pop to an otherwise dreadfully dull colored dish. Finely chopped green onions or chives work great here as well.

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Tempura Mushrooms Equipment

Here’s a list of all the equipment you’ll need to make fried mushrooms. You probably already have most of this stuff in your kitchen. If not, I attached some links.

• Pot: Most of us don’t have a deep fryer, if you do, I’m jealous and skip forward to the next section. Otherwise, you’ll need something to heat your oil and fry the fungi in, ideally a deep Cast iron skillet or dutch oven.
• Thermometer: Getting the oil the right temperature is paramount to achieving a proper tempura shroom. Too high and they’ll burn, too low and you’ll get a soggy mess.
• Slotted Spoon: Thongs work as well. You’ll need them to gently flip and remove the fried mushrooms from the hot oil.
• Wire Rack: A wire rack can be helpful. Place one over a baking sheet to allow excess oil to drain off. This will help maintain crispiness.
• Mixing bowl: For preparing the tempura batter.

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How to Make Tempura Mushrooms

Follow these step by step instructions to make this tempura mushroom recipe.

Step 1: Clean & Trim

Fill a small dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet with at least 2 inches of oil. Heat oil to 350°F.

Clean and trim mushrooms. For cluster mushrooms such as enoki, leave enough stem so they don’t fall apart, but enough to where you can separate them into smaller clusters. Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Step 2: Mix Batter

In a small bowl, whisk together the tempura batter mix and the cold water until blended. Don’t over mix.

Prepare a paper towel lined wire rack.

Step 3: Deep Fry

Dip the mushrooms into the batter one at a time and carefully slide them into the hot oil.

For cluster mushrooms like enoki or even oyster, hold the cluster by its stem, dip it into the batter, let extra batter drip off, then carefully hold it in the oil and gently shake the cluster side to side before dropping the entire cluster into the oil. This will help to create space between the caps and avoid a big flour clump. Being cautious of hot oil splatters.

Cook in small batches of 3–4 pieces, frying them for 2–4 minutes, or until light golden brown. Turning the mushrooms over once during this process. Be sure to maintain an oil temperature of 340-350F.

Step 4: Garnish & Serve

Once cooked, transfer to a paper towel lined wire rack and let the tempura mushrooms drain for a few minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions and flakey sea sea slat. Serve with a sweet soy sauce or chipotle mayo. Enjoy!

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Dipping Sauce for Tempura Mushrooms

These mushrooms are tasty enough on their own, but let’s be real, everything is better with a dipping sauce. If you’re all about keeping things traditional, get some Tentsuyu sauce. It’s a lovely mixture of Soy Sauce, Mirin, and Dashi. Here’s a good one to try, Tentsuyu Tempura Dipping Sauce.

If you want to mix things up, then check out some of our sauce recipes to add an extra flavor punch to your tempura mushrooms. We really like a spicy chipotle mayo. In a food processor, simply mix together some high quality mayo, sour cream, lime juice, sea salt, one of the little cans of peppers in adobo sauce.

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More Sauce Recipes for Tempura Mushrooms

Here are some other fun sauce recipes, all of which are great with tempura mushrooms.

Spicy Jalapeño & Avocado Lime Crema – a Creamy Delight!

Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing

Buffalo Ranch Dressing

Sambal Oelek – FRESH & SPICY Indonesian Chili Paste

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Storing Tempura Mushrooms

Leftover mushrooms can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, use an oven or toaster oven to help maintain their crispy texture.

You should really just try and just hammer down all of the mushrooms though. Reheating and refrigerating isn’t kind to tempura mushrooms.

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More Mushroom Recipes

You got it, check out these other mushroom recipes.

Vegan Bibimbap – Tofu & Wild Mushrooms

CREAMY Corn and Mushroom Soup Recipe

Wild Mushroom Arancini (FLAVOR BALLS)

MAGICAL Wild Mushroom Toast (Chanterelles)

WILD Mushroom Stock (Golden Chanterelle)

Chanterelle and Sage Risotto Recipe (Flavor Blasted)

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