The Easiest Shrimp Tempura Recipe
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Crispy, golden shrimp tempura is light, crunchy, and totally irresistible. Each shrimp is coated in a delicate batter and fried until perfectly crisp which makes it the perfect appetizer or sushi night favorite.
My husband enjoys good shrimp. It’s something that he makes to eat for lunch or with dinner but it has to be larger shrimp, none of those tiny little shrimp.
I recently got some colossal shrimp from Fulton Fish Market. These big guys are peeled and deveined by hand, leaving a sweet and succulent shrimp that is ready to cook without any fuss. Wild-caught in the open ocean off the coast of the Gulf of California, these colossal blue shrimp are 16-20 count.
As soon as my husband saw them he wanted to know what I was going to make with them. We often just steam out shrimp with a little bit of beer and Old Bay seasoning but these shrimp were so large and good looking I wanted to do something a little special.
We often have seafood at home, just not shrimp. The recipe we make most often is the classic Maryland Style Crab Cakes. We also enjoy the No Fail Beer Battered Fish recipe. For something with a little spice we go for Korean BBQ Salmon.
I decided to make Shrimp Tempura because it’s one of my husband’s favorites and I rarely make anything with tempura batter at home. I have made a Vegetable Tempura before so I thought I could use the same batter recipe on the shrimp as I do on the vegetables.
What is the difference between tempura shrimp and fried shrimp?
The main difference between tempura shrimp and fried shrimp is the batter and texture. Tempura shrimp is made with a light batter and has a delicate, crispy coating that is often served with a soy based dipping sauce. Fried shrimp usually has a thicker batter or breading, is heavier and crunchier, and is served with cocktail sauce or tartar sauce.
Tempura batter is easy to make but it’s also easy to mess up. It’s simply made with eggs, water, flour, and ice cubes. If your batter is too thick it will clump and look messy. If the batter is too thin it will slide off the shrimp.
The trick is to make the batter and keep it in the refrigerator until your oil is hot. You put the ice cubes into the batter to keep it cold as well.
What do I fry the shrimp in?
You want to use a neutral oil for frying the shrimp. This means using vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil. If you want it to be more authentic you can add a few tablespoons of sesame oil to whatever oil you choose. Make sure the oil temperature reaches between 340-360 degrees before frying the shrimp.
Before you make the shrimp you are going to want to peel, clean, and devein them. The great thing about the Colossal Shrimp from Fulton Fish Market is that they are already peeled and deveined so all I had to do was thaw them before cooking.
You want to make sure you get your oil nice and hot, around 350 degrees. I prefer to use a digital candy thermometer when checking the temperature of the oil. You can also carefully add a drop of water to the oil and if it crackles the oil should be ready to use.
Ingredients:
- jumbo shrimp
- vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
- egg
- cold water
- all purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- ice cubes
- soy sauce (I prefer low sodium)
- rice vinegar
- oyster sauce
- garlic cloves
To make the shrimp first peel, clean, and de-vein them. Add 1-2 inches of vegetables oil to a large frying pan. Heat over medium high heat or until the temperature reaches 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl whisk together the egg, cold water, flour, salt, and pepper. The batter should be mixed but can still have a few lumps in it as you don’t want to over mix. Place the ice cubes in the batter and refrigerate until ready to use (and in between frying).
Hold the shrimp by the tail and dunk it into the tempura batter. Allow excess to pour off the shrimp and quickly put the shrimp into the pan. Cook the shrimp in batches of 6-8 at a time, making sure they have room in the pan to move. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden. Remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate.
These shrimp were amazing! For starters they were huge and some of the most gorgeous shrimp I’ve seen. The tempura batter was light and crunchy and was perfect with the shrimp. I served the shrimp with a tempura sauce which was salty and delicious.
My husband asked for a bit of cocktail sauce as well as the tempura sauce and thoroughly enjoyed these. They are best served hot and fresh.
How do you store tempura shrimp?
I wouldn’t. They get soggy and are very hard to reheat. You can keep the tempura batter in the refrigerator for up to two days. Only fry as many shrimp as you are going to eat.
What else can I make with the tempura batter?
You can put the tempura batter on tofu or chicken if you want that for your main entree. It’s also delicious on vegetables. Sweet potato sticks, zucchini coins, eggplant slices, onion rings, whole green beans, or broccoli florets are all delicious with tempura batter.
Want to get your own colossal shrimp or some of the best seafood around? Simply visit Fulton Fish Market now!
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Shrimp Tempura
Equipment
Ingredients
- 24 jumbo shrimp peeled and de-veined
- vegetable oil
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 black pepper
- 2 ice cubes
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Peel and de-vein the shrimp and set aside.
- Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan so that it is 1-2 inches deep. Heat over medium high heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the egg, cold water, flour, salt, and pepper. The batter should be mixed but can still have a few lumps in it as you don’t want to over mix.
- Place the ice cubes in the batter and refrigerate until ready to use and in between frying.
- Hold the shrimp by the tail and dunk it into the tempura batter. Allow the excess batter to pour off the shrimp then quickly put the shrimp into the pan of hot oil.
- Cook the shrimp in batches of 6-8 at a time, making sure they have room in the pan to move. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden. Remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate.
- Meanwhile, place the water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and oyster sauce in a pan over medium high heat and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve the shrimp with the sauce.
Notes
