Deep Fried Party Snacks

Every party needs finger food, and there's nothing like food that's been deep fried! I'm a big fan of tempura battered anything, and in this instructable we'll go over some of my favorites and how to properly prepare them.

There are big problems with having deep fried food at a party though. It takes a while, standing over a vat of hot oil, all bubbling and burning you when it pops. Then there's the lingering smell, which gets into everything and doesn't fade for several hours. And of course, if you've been drinking, playing with hot oil isn't the best idea!  We've got a solution for that though:  freeze it! 

Step 1 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need:

• Tempura batter (home made or from a mix)
• Vegetable oil
• High walled pan
• Tongs
• Plate
• Paper towels
• Mixing bowl
• Sharp knife
• Latex or neoprene gloves (if you're making poppers)
• Beer (optional)

As to what you'll actually be deep frying, choose from the list below, or make up your own.  The first five items are actually used in this instructable, but I've added a few suggestions I didn't cover:

1. Zucchini
2. Mushrooms
3. Brocolli
4. Mozzarella
5. Jalapeños and cream cheese
6. Chicken (with sesame seeds!)
7. Onions
8. Green or under ripe red tomatoes
9. Asparagus
10. Green beans
11. Potatoes (french fries, anyone?)
12. Candy Bars and/or oreos (or so I hear!)
13. Bacon (can be added to any of the above)

Any other suggestions for what to deep fry?

A note about batter:  I have tried to make tempura batter and other batters from scratch, and they never turn out well, they're always too runny or too chunky or fall apart when you try to fry them.  Maybe I just haven't found the right recipe, but I discovered tempura batter mix a few months back, and I've decided it's the way to go.  If I make it too runny, I can just add more mix, and it almost always turns out just right.

Comments

[haventmadeabombyet]

Banana slices are great for deep frying. I usually use a different recipe for the batter. You can also try dusting them with powdered sugar.

[depotdevoid]

Oh, cool! Do you have that batter recipe? I'd certainly give those a shot!

[haventmadeabombyet]

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Here is the recipe I get the batter from to make Banana Fritters. Just drop what ever you want into the batter instead of corn, though the corn fritters are REALLY good, especially when dipped in honey. ENJOY!!!

Corn Fritters

½ (1) Cup unsifted all-purpose flour
½ (1) Teaspoon baking powder
½ (1) Teaspoon salt
OR
½ (1) Cup of Self-rising flour may be used for the 1st three ingredients.
Mix together:
1 (2) Eggs (beaten)
2 (4) Tablespoons milk
1 (2) Teaspoons salad oil
1 (2) Cups drained whole kernel corn

In mixing bowl beat eggs slightly, add milk and oil, beat to combine. Stir in flour mixture, then corn. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons into hot deep oil (375 degrees). Fry about 5 minutes, turning once. Drain on absorbent paper. Makes 16-18 ( 32-36), Serve with syrup, honey or confectioners sugar. Or add 1 can of corn beef spread to make corn beef fritters.

[aristocob]

Congratulations on your win! My son and I will have to give these a go. Scott

[depotdevoid]

Thanks Scott, and congrats to you too!

[The Ideanator]

What happens to the flavour if you toss in some really good bacon in the oil? I'm highly tempted to try that.

[depotdevoid]

Hmmm . . . maybe I should be saving my bacon grease! If you try this let me know!

[clouda9]

No matter what...fat and all...this recipe and pics brought back lots of fond memories of couples night poker with a beer batter veggie fry! :) One of our all time faves was cauliflower. PS Loved the lemonade suggestion - I think I have a can of Mike's Hard in the fridge...yipee!

[depotdevoid]

Clouda, if you think it's worthy, I'd really like a vote for my instructable in the party foods contest!

[clouda9]

Sure thing...where do I need to go to do that?

[depotdevoid]

Just go here:

http://www.instructables.com/contest/partyfood/

I've two on that page, Chocolate-Vanilla-Coffee Graham Crackers, and this one.

Thanks!

[depotdevoid]

Thanks Clouda, glad you liked it!

[nanosec12]

Great instructible.

One comment though, in step two for the metric measurement, I am pretty sure you mean 25-40 mm, not cm.

Nice Work !!

[depotdevoid]

nanosec, voting has opened for the party foods contest--if you have a minute I'd really appreciate a vote!

[nanosec12]

Voted !!

[depotdevoid]

Great, thanks!

[depotdevoid]

Whoops, that's what I get for trying to make things more metric friendly . . . 25-40 cm of oil would be a lot!

Thanks for pointing that out, I've changed up step 2.

[Cabe]

I have in the past used lemonade instead of beer, same effect of carbonating the batter and gives it a lemony zing!

[depotdevoid]

Cabe, if you have the time, please vote for me in the party food contest!

[Cabe]

Done!

[depotdevoid]

Thanks!

[depotdevoid]

Lemonade, you say??? That sounds just crazy enough to work!

[Cabe]

It was one of those happy discoveries. I had run out of beer (the outrage!) and was stood in the kitchen with a bowl of prawns that weren't going to tempura themselves. A scrabble in the fridge found me a can of cheap lidl lemonade et voila!

[depotdevoid]

So you use hard lemonade of some sort then?

[Cabe]

Doesn't have to be alcoholic, but it doesn't hurt.

[sockeye101]

This entire instructable should be linked to on thisiswhyyourfat...

...Awesome...

[depotdevoid]

Sockeye, if you could take the time to vote for me in the party foods contest, I'd really appreciate it!

[sockeye101]

Done!

[depotdevoid]

Awesome, thanks a lot!

[depotdevoid]

I definitely qualify for that! I think it's more the combination of the food I like and lack of exercise though. You can be skinny no matter what your diet is, as long as you manage to burn off what you eat. Until I hurt my foot last year I was, while definitely not skinny, not fat either, now my food is the same but my regular exercise has suffered and I've been piling on the pounds!

[nicky23]

Tasty! Like it.

[depotdevoid]

Hi nicky, if you can spare the time I'd really appreciate a vote in the party foods contest!

[depotdevoid]

Thanks Nicky!