Shrimp Tempura Recipe

Delicious Shrimp Tempura Recipe with Step-by-Step Instructions

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Shrimp tempura, Shrimp Tempura roll, Tempura Shrimp

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings: People

Calories: 232kcal

Remove shells from shrimp, leaving the tails on. Remove the spiky part of the tail closest to the back as that can pop when frying.
Devein the shrimp. To do this, use a sharp knife to cut along the back of the shrimp about 1/4 of the way through to expose the vein. Once exposed, scrape out the vein with your knife.
Use your knife to scrape the black liquid out of the tail as this liquid can also cause the shrimp to pop during frying. Rinse the shrimp and dry thoroughly with a paper towel.
Stretch the shrimp. Use a sharp knife to cut shallow slits along the belly of shrimp from the head to the tail. Then use your fingers to press the shrimp against the cutting board. You should feel the shrimp cracking each time you press down straightening the shrimp.

In a sauce pan, heat 6 cups of vegetable oil on medium heat to 350 degrees.
Assemble the ingredients and chill the water. You may need to add ice if you don't have access to very cold water. However, make sure to remove ice cubes before combining with egg.
Crack the egg into a mixing bowl and beat until the yolk and white are combined.
Add cold water to the egg and mix well. I sometimes will use a strainer to catch the ice cubes as I pour the water into the bowl.
Sift one cup of flour into the egg and water combination.
Using a spoon or chopstick, lightly mix making sure not to over stir. The batter should be mixed but a little lumpy.

Put the remaining cup of flour into a bowl or plate. Dip the shrimp into the flour making sure the entire piece of shrimp is coated in flour. This helps the batter to stick to the flour.
Holding by the tail, dip each shrimp into the batter ensuring the piece is evenly coated. Then gently drop the batter into the vegetable oil, cooking for around a minute to a minute and a half, or until the batter is slightly crunchy and the shrimp is cooked through. Once done, place on a plate covered with two or three paper towels to help soak up any excess oil. Repeat this process for all shrimp.
Discard the remaining oil when complete.
Serve and enjoy: I usually serve with tempura sauce.

It's important to make sure that you remove any excess water from your shrimp when making shrimp tempura as water makes the oil pop during cooking. In addition to properly drying the shrimp after you devein and rinse, it is also important to remove the spike from the tail as it often contains water. It's also important to scrape out the black liquid from the tail as that often pops during cooking if the liquid is not removed.
To make sure your tempura batter is nice and cold, I would make sure you coat and cook the shrimp right away after mixing the batter.
Shrimp tempura is best served within a half an hour of cooking. You can warm up in the oven if you are within that time frame. If you are eating outside that time frame you can fry again in the oil for about 20 seconds to freshen it up immediately before serving.