Recipe: SCOBY Tempura Salad
One of our lovely blog readers asked if you can eat a SCOBY, the live culture that makes kombucha so special and healthy. The answer is yes- if you’re brave enough! Here’s a recipe using a SCOBY (followed by the cutest video of a little girl begging her mum to eat one at home). We dare you to do the same!
Recipe: SCOBY Tempura Salad
Republished with kind thanks from the fantastic book Kombucha! By Eric and Jessica Childs. Special thanks to LW Yang for the image.
You will need:
1 cup unbleached cake flour
1 cup white rice flour
6 cups liquid coconut oil
1 large organic egg, beaten
1.5 cups sparkling water
1/2 cup of cold original Equinox kombucha
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into slices
1/4 pound of fresh broccoli, trimmed into 2 inch florets
8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
1 cup diced kombucha SCOBY
half a head of lettuce, washed and chopped
half a cup simple kombucha salad dressing*
1. Combine the cake flour and rice flour in a medium glass bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or large saucepan on high heat until it reaches 375˚F. If you don’t have a deep fry thermometer, test the heat by placing a droplet of batter into the pan to see if it fizzles and fries. If it browns immediately, the oil is too hot (it should stay there for 45 seconds before browning).
3. Prepare the batter just before you want to use it. Whisk the egg, water and kombucha in a medium bowl. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk to combine. Some lumps may remain, but try to do away with the big ones. Set the glass batter bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice to keep it as cool as possible while you fry.
4. Dip the sweet potatoes into the batter using tongs, drain for 1 second over the bowl, then add to the hot oil. Adjust the heat to 375˚F if needed, and don’t put more than 6 pieces in the pan at a time to avoid overcrowding. The tempura is done when it’s puffy and light gold in colour. Remove and sprinkle with salt.
5. Repeat this coating and frying process with the broccoli and parsley, and finally for the pieces of SCOBY.
6. Arrange the lettuce on 4 plates. Place the tempura veggies around the lettuce and toss the tempura SCOBY pieces on top. Drizzle with the dressing and enjoy immediately.
*Salad dressing consists of a pinch of pepper, a pinch of dried herbs, 1 tablespoon honey, ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, and ¼ cup of Equinox kombucha vinegar. (Note: This is simply over-fermented kombucha, so leave a bottle with the lid off until it smells and tastes like vinegar and you're all ready to go).