Crispy Japanese Shrimp Tempura (Ebiten)

Sift cornstarch and cake flour into a bowl.

Give them a good mix, and place the bowl in the freezer.

Pour water into a jug and pop it into the fridge with an unopened bottle of sparkling water. In my experience, cold ingredients make a huge difference for tempura batter.

Place 8-10 large deshelled and deveined shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 pinches of salt and 1 tsp of cornstarch.

Rub the mixture over the shrimp. After well-coating, rinse them under cold water to wash off the excess salt and cornstarch.

Salt dehydrates the shrimp, which improves the texture, and starch absorbs the dirt. This makes them super clean, and they always taste better if you do this!

Pat them dry using kitchen paper and lay them on a chopping board.

Lay each shrimp on its side, fold the tail in half, and trim it diagonally. Make sure to cut off the pointy tip – this prevents oil splatters during frying and gives the shrimp a neat appearance.

Turn the shrimp belly up and make diagonal incisions about 1cm apart along its body, cutting halfway through. Then, you gently press the back of the shrimp to stretch the muscle.

To keep the prawns straight, breaking off the muscle is important! This process prevents prawns from curling too much when they’re frying.

Once you’ve followed the tips above, rinse them in cold water and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Put them in the fridge until just before battering.

Keeping the ingredients cold is key for tempura in general as well.

Once 30 minutes have passed, it’s time to mix the batter! Mix a few tablespoons of chilled water in a bowl with ½ tbsp of Japanese mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is a great alternative when you want to make a small batch, seeing as measuring ½ or ¼ of an egg is a pain, but you can do this if you prefer.

The general usage ratio of mayonnaise is 1 egg = 1 tbsp mayonnaise.

Once combined, pour in the remaining chilled water and sparkling water.

Add flour/starch mixture in thirds, gently drawing crosses with chopsticks to mix. Remember, no vigorous whisking!

Add a couple of ice cubes to the batter for an extra crispy tempura. This is to keep the batter cold during the frying process!

Preheat your frying oil to 180 °C and 190 °C (approx 355-375°F). Temperature is crucial for good tempura, so I highly recommend getting a contactless cooking thermometer. It’s so quick and accurate, I love it!

Dry the shrimp again with kitchen paper and lightly dust them with flour.

Dip each shrimp into the batter, ensuring a thin coat, and gently place them into the hot oil.

To achieve a crispy tempura, it is vital to maintain the temperature of the oil. If you put too many shrimps in the pan at once, the oil temperature will drop, resulting in less crispy tempura.

It is best to fry only a few shrimps in small batches (no more than 4).

This will not only prevent them from sticking together but also ensure the success of your tempura.

When frying shrimp tempura, the ideal frying time is around 2 minutes, and the oil temperature should be between 180-190°C (approx 355-375°F). The key is to fry the shrimp quickly at a high temperature.

To determine when to take the prawns out of oil, there are three things to look at:

1. Color: The surface of the batter should be light golden, not dark.
2. Sound: When you first put the batter in the oil, it should crack loudly. However, towards the end of the frying process, the sound will become “high-pitched,” and the foam will become smaller.
3. Float: When the prawns are ready to be removed from the oil, they will rise to the surface and float.

Paying attention to these three things ensures your shrimp tempura is perfectly cooked and delicious.

Once done, place them on a wire rack to drain any excess oil.

This shrimp tempura can be eaten simply with salt like at a tempura specialty restaurant, or dipped in tempura dipping sauce, or used for kake udon/soba or zaru udon/soba.

Enjoy it any way you like!