National Tempura Day January 7: Recipe tips for the best tempura

Fryers away! January 7 is National Tempura Day.

Tempura is the Japanese style of frying seafood and vegetables. The difference between tempura and other deep-frying techniques is in the batter. Traditional tempura batter is very light and made with just flour and water, no eggs.

Tempura is easy to master at home, here are some tips to get you started:

- Use really cold water for your batter. Cold water doesn't absorb oil as much as warm water and keeps the fried product light. You can also use cold sparkling water.

- The batter is best when it's made at the very last minute.

- Don't overmix the batter. In the case of tempura, lumps are a good thing.

- The perfect tempura frying temperature is between 340 and 360 degrees F. Use a thermometer to check the oil.