Simple to prepare, shrimp tempura (ebi-tempura) can be served as an appetizer or main course.
A light batter is made of ice-cold water, eggs, and flour. Sometimes baking soda or baking powder is added to make the batter light.
Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small quantities using chopsticks for just a few seconds.
Thin slices or strips of vegetables or seafood are dipped into the batter, then briefly fried in boiling oil.
Vegetable oil or canola oil are the most common; however, tempura is traditionally cooked using sesame oil.
Commonly served with grated daikon and eaten hot right after frying.
Shrimp tempura is often used as a filling in makizushi, the sushi most familiar to us Westerners.
Tempura does not use panko in the coating.
Fried foods covered with panko are called furai, or Western-style fried foods invented by the Japanese, such as tonkatsu or ebi furai (fried shrimp).
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 7 oz shrimp or prawns (shelled but with tail)
- 7 oz tempura flour mix
- 1.4 cups cold water
- 1 egg
- as needed sesame oil
Preparation
Mix 7 oz of tempura flour with the egg and 1.4 cups of ice-cold water to prepare the batter.
Mix with wooden chopsticks for no more than a minute using a figure-eight motion.
Keep the batter cold, in the fridge or inside a container with water and ice.The colder the batter and ingredients are before frying, the lighter and crisper your tempura will be. You can use ice cubes to keep the batter even colder.
Dust the shrimp with a little flour, then dip them into the batter, covering them completely.
Remove from the pan and place on a rack. Remove excess oil by placing them on paper towels and serve hot with soy or teriyaki sauce.
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For better cooking, you can use the tempura pan.
