40 min · Fish · Main course · For confident cooks
Ebi no Tempura
In German: Garnelen-Tempura · In English: Shrimp tempura
For 4 servings · US units
Shrimp in a thin, airy batter, fried golden and crisp in four minutes
Ebi no Tempura is built on a contrast: a thin, shattering coating outside, a juicy shrimp within. The trick lies less in the frying than in the batter — ice-cold water, cornstarch and a short rest keep it light. Serve it the moment it leaves the oil, with soy sauce for dipping or a side that won't soften the crust.
Ingredients
- 16Shrimppeeled except for the tail, deveined, patted dry
- 1¾ ozWheat flourfor the batter
- 1¼ ozstarchmakes the batter lighter and crisper
- 1 tspBaking powderfor an airy coating
- ½ cupwaterice cold, sparkling water in one source
- saltfor the batter
- 4¼ cupsFrying oilneutral, heated to about 180 °C
- 1Eggonly in one source, in the batter (optional)
- 2¾ ozto roll the battered shrimp in for a coarse crust (optional)Japanese breadcrumbs made from crustless white bread, coarse and flaky, that turn especially light and crisp when fried.Substitute: Tear or coarsely grate crustless white bread and dry it in a low oven without letting it colour; this comes close to panko. Ordinary fine breadcrumbs are denser, absorb more fat and give a thinner, harder crust instead of the light, shattering one.Read more
- 3⅛ ozWasabi pastestirred into the batter for heat (optional)
- 3 tbspsoy saucefor the dipping sauce or accompaniment (optional)
Method
- Peel the shrimp, leaving the tail fins attached. Remove the dark vein, rinse the shrimp and pat them thoroughly dry — any leftover moisture will make the batter slide off later.
- Make several crosswise cuts along the belly side of each shrimp and gently straighten them out. This keeps them from curling as they cook, so they stay long and straight.
- Combine the flour, cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl and season with salt.
- Pour in the ice-cold water and stir everything into a smooth batter. If you like, whisk in an egg as well, or add wasabi paste for heat. Let the batter rest for about 20 minutes.
- Heat the frying oil in a deep pot to about 355 °F. Check the temperature with a thermometer, or hold a wooden chopstick in the oil: when fine bubbles rise steadily along it, the oil is ready.
- Hold each shrimp by the tail, draw it through the batter and let the excess drip off. For a coarser crust, roll the battered shrimp in panko.
- Fry the shrimp in batches for about 4 minutes until crisp, turning them once. Don't crowd the pot, or the oil temperature will drop.
- Drain the finished tempura on paper towels and serve right away, with soy sauce or a dip alongside.
Tips and variations
The batter takes well to variation: made with egg and seasoned with curry, served with an Asian dipping sauce, or stirred with wasabi paste — the latter goes nicely with a lukewarm glass noodle salad with carrots, bell pepper, chilli and coriander. Sparkling water, ice cold, can replace still water for an even airier coating. If you'd rather skip the pot of oil, roll the battered shrimp in panko, brush them with oil and cook them in an air fryer at 200 °C for 8 minutes. Bring the tempura straight from the pot to the table — standing around costs them their bite.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Crustaceans
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Eggs, Soybeans
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
