What To Serve With Tempura Chicken: 10 Tasty Choices!
If you love experimenting with Japanese food, or you’re completely new to this kind of cuisine and need a little inspiration, you might be wondering what to serve with tempura chicken.
There are plenty of serving and pairing options for these delicious morsels of chicken breast, coated with a light and crispy batter, and they range from quick and easy through to dinner party worthy!
What to serve with tempura chicken
The best sauces to serve with tempura chicken are Japanese dipping sauce, sweet and sour, and sweet chilli. The best additional side dishes to add to your plate include Japanese powdered potatoes, sticky rice, ginger noodles, stir fried veggies, and roasted miso garlic cauliflower.
Here, I’m going to share the best recipes for you to follow, plus other ideas, hints, and tips for creating the most delicious meal for dinner!
1. Tentsuyu (Japanese dipping sauce)
Tentsuyu is a traditional Japanese dipping sauce that’s very often served alongside all kinds of tempura, including chicken, prawn, and veggie.
It has just 4 ingredients and can be ready in minutes, so it’s definitely worth giving it a try!
It’s light, refreshing, and very commonly found in authentic Japanese eateries.
I like to add a sharing bowl of this dip to the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.
Soy sauce is the shining star ingredient here, and it does most of the work when it comes to creating a deeply satisfying, savoury flavour.
2. Sweet and sour sauce
Sweet and sour sauce is most often associated with East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, though it’s actually believed to have been used in England since the middle ages.
Pour a generous serving of it over your tempura chicken, add some pineapple and chopped peppers and onions if you like, and you have a delicious meal that’s perfect with steamed rice.
I recommend this sweet and sour sauce recipe, which has a fruity and sweet taste profile as well as that beautiful signature red colour.
3. Sweet chilli sauce
Sweet chilli sauce is popular in Thai, Afghan, Malaysian, and Western cuisine, and it’s ideal for pouring over battered chicken for a quick and easy restaurant style meal.
You can make your own sweet chilli sauce at home with just 5 ingredients, and it will keep in a small sterilised jar for up to a month.
I also like serving up tempura chicken in sweet chilli sauce for work-from-home lunches, in wrap sandwiches with a side of salad and some crisps!
(For more mealtime ideas, you might also want to take a look at what to serve with chicken wraps!)
4. Kofuki imo (Japanese powdered potatoes)
If you’re a big fan of a potato based side dish, you really need to try kofuki imo.
You’ll boil potatoes until tender, give them a good shake in a colander to rough up the edges, and toss with sugar, soy sauce, and butter to create the satisfying powdered texture.
They’re the perfect balance between sweet and savoury, and you can tailor the recipe to add some of your favourite elements.
Popular additions include chunks of ham, or chopped fresh chilli peppers.
I like to add plenty of freshly ground black pepper!
5. Broccoli blanched with sesame oil
A side serving of nutritious green veggies is always a good idea when you’re feeding your family, and they can also bring a much needed splash of vibrant colour to your plate.
With a little imagination and a fully stocked pantry, veggies don’t have to be boring either.
Blanching your broccoli with sesame oil adds a real depth of flavour.
It also helps to retain the fresh flavour of the florets for longer, making it a brilliant option if you like to get ahead with your meal prep.
The Asian vibes make this accompaniment a fabulous choice for what to serve with tempura chicken.
6. Ajitsuke tamago (ramen egg)
You don’t have to be making ramen to enjoy the deliciousness that is a creamy, savoury, silky ramen egg!
These little beauties are a great side dish for a wide range of Japanese inspired cuisine, and they’re just as good for simple snacking.
You’ll marinade your eggs overnight in a sweetened soy-based sauce, and it’s important to note that you should cook the marinade.
Boiling it for a minute once it starts to bubble will ensure that the sugar dissolves and the alcohol evaporates, making them perfectly safe for kids to consume.
7. Sticky Japanese style rice
Rice might seem like the obvious choice to serve with tempura chicken, with the addition of one of the sauces that we covered above, but it’s very deserving of a mention because the combination is just so good!
Even experienced home cooks can sometimes struggle to get rice just right, and if you find that it can be a challenge, I recommend following this guide to making Japanese rice.
It’s light and fluffy and slightly sticky, and the steps will ensure that you get perfect rice each and every time.
I like to add some Japanese seasonings or pickles just before serving up alongside the chicken.
(For more ideas, take a look at what to serve with tempura shrimp).
8. Ginger noodles
In this recipe for delicious ginger noodles, you’ll sauté chewy soba noodles with lots of fresh and crunchy veggies and toss in a sweet yet savoury soy ginger sauce.
It’s just as good as the side dishes that you’ll find in many takeaway restaurants, and the leftovers are a real treat for a lunch box the next day.
The noodles are healthy, colourful, and quick, and they can be made without any hassle or fuss on busy weeknights when you need a filling meal on the table fast.
9. Stir fried veggies
The beauty of a stir fry is that you can use any veggies that you might have left over in your fridge, and very quick create a bright, healthy, easy side dish for tempura chicken.
I like to add chopped peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and I add fresh ginger, garlic, and red chillis for extra flavour.
Extra ideas include broccoli, mushrooms, and beansprouts.
10. Roasted miso garlic cauliflower
If you want an option for what to serve with tempura chicken that’s a little out of the ordinary and sure to get everyone talking around the dinner table, try this roasted miso garlic cauliflower recipe.
You’ll make a flavoursome garlic miso sauce, rich with umami, before brushing it over your vegetables and roasting in the oven.
What to eat with tempura chicken
The best choices for what to serve with tempura chicken include:
- Tentsuyu (Japanese dipping sauce)
- Sweet and sour sauce
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Kofuki imo (Japanese powdered potatoes)
- Broccoli blanched with sesame oil
- Ajitsuke tamago (ramen egg)
- Sticky Japanese style rice
- Ginger noodles
- Stir fried veggies
- Roasted miso garlic cauliflower
For more Japanese meal planning ideas, be sure to take a look at the best side dishes for ramen, and my guide to what to serve with Japanese curry.
For more ideas for your chicken based meals, browse the best accompaniments for chicken parmesan.
