How to Make TempuraPosted on January 30th, 2007 · Post a comment »
Sushi Advice
Several people have requested a tempura recipe, so here you go! This will work for most any type of tempura, from shrimp to vegetables, and even bananas!
Ingredients
- assorted ingredients to tempura (shrimp, onion, carrot, broccoli, banana, etc.)
- 1 cup ice cold water
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- cooking oil
Cooking Directions
- In a medium bowl, mix the water and the egg.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking soda.
- Stir the flour mix into the egg mix. It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
- Stick the batter in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.
- If you are using shrimp, peel, de-vein, and wash it. Make some small cuts across the belly of the shrimp, to keep it from curling when you cook it. (Thanks hien and Rei for the tips!)
- If you are using vegetables, clean them and cut them into your desired size. Try not to use very soft ingredients, as they will soften as they cook (softer ingredients tend to fall apart when you take it out of the oil).
- Heat the oil in a frying pan. The oil should be hot enough that when you drip batter in it, the drops come to the top immediately.
- Coat your ingredients in the batter. Place the coated ingredients in the hot oil, turning when the bottom side is browned.
- Place the fried ingredients on a paper towel to drain. Remove any skewers. Serve immediately.
Serving Size: 1 batch
- Calories:413
- Fat: 6g, 9% DV
- Saturated Fat: 2g, 8% DV
- Cholesterol: 211mg, 70% DV
- Sodium: 225mg 9% DV
- Total Carbohydrates: 72g, 24% DV
- Dietary Fiber: 3g, 10% DV
- Sugars: 1g
- Protein: 16g, 32% DV
- Vitamin A: 5%
- Vitamin C: 0%
- Calcium: 5%
- Iron: 29%
- Magnesium: 7%
- Potassium: 5%
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These values are only estimates based on the individual ingredients, and not meant to replace the advice of a medical professional.
Like the skewer tip…my shrimp always curl up and we wind up using more then we need.
I wanted a tempura batter recipe for years, but never looked. Thanks
-Will
Ralph - Glad I could help!
Hopefully now your shrimp tempura will turn out better. 
Will - Hehe you’re welcome! Actually I think you were the first person to request a tempura recipe, so here you go!
If I didn’t hate to deep fry so much, I’d be all over this recipe.
Made 5 dozen samosas a few weeks ago which was my first time on over 6 months but I was very motivated … to eat samosas.
Yummy! I’ve never tempura’d because I try to avoid deep frying anything (fear, health, what have you) but I’ve read that using carbonated/seltzer water gives the batter a little extra oomph that makes it fluffier (that’s not the word, but … airier?) or osmething. If you try that , let me know how that works out (I know I will probably not tempura…)
Lara - Wow, that’s a lot of samosas! Sounds yummy! I’ll try to find a tempura recipe that doesn’t involve frying so the sushi is maybe a little bit healthier.
I wonder how baking would work… we’ll see!
Yvo - Hehe I usually make Son do the frying… (I stay away from hot oil, he stays away from knives… it all works out!
By the way, how is your finger doing? I hope you are feeling better!) I had heard that too about the carbonated water, but forgot about it until you mentioned it! I’ll definitely have to try that next time I make tempura!
I read somewhere that you can achieve similar results by baking the tempura. Has anyone tried it?
i believe you don’t need baking soda for tempura. What you do is cover the shrimp with dry tempura powder, then the batter then into the hot oil (350 degree). springle more batter over the shrimp as it’s cooking in the oil.
for straight shrimp, you shouldn’t be using the skewers (skewers is for boiling only). what you do is… give a some small cuts on the stomach of the shrimp them use your fingers and push on the back (don’t do to hard the shrimp will break) like u roll sushi.( the shrimp is a little long and straigh).
Joe - I’ll see if i can find a recipe for baking it… that would be a lot healthier!
hien - Interesting… thanks for the tips.
Me and deep frying do NOT get along. I’m always getting spattered (for some reason, its almost always in my eye…seriously! lol) and I can’t seem to get the oil hot enough to make my fried items crispy enough. Any one have any tips on how to make things easier? Types of oil (I ususally use canola), pots, screens, utensils?
By the by, this site is AMAZING. So inspiring! I’ve started coming up with my own creative sushi ideas and finally incorporating sushi into my regular diet
OOPS! I forgot to fill out my information for the above post
Also, to make sure the oil is hot enough, I put the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil - if bubbles form around the handle, then the oil is hot enough. Or you could use a thermometer, but I don’t have one and I find that the wooden handle method works just fine.
We just use a regular frying pan for our frying .
I have found that often when the oil is spattering, it is because a little water has come into contact with the oil, so I try to make sure my pan and the food I am frying is free of water if possible. Of course, that isn’t always the case, so be careful anyways!
I’m glad you like the site! Feel free to share any sushi ideas you would like to see up here!
Just to say, even if many have already said it, this site is so cool. It’s so neat, and organized and not straining to look at.
I am new in making sushi, specifically maki, and saw this site, I learned how to cook the sushi rice from here. Thank you for the recipe, I’ll probably try doing my own varieties some time.
Anyways, about the frying issue, the oil does splatter if there’s water. Also, when I fry, it usually splatters when the oil is just getting there. I mean, when it is already hot, but not yet enough. It’ like midway through the halfway.
But, if everything else fails, I would suggest wearing a costume. Probably wearing a mask would help avoid those splatters :D.
Well, good luck in frying and thank you again for this site.
Thanks Ryan!
I’m glad you like the site! Thanks so much for the frying tips… I definitely appreciate them and I’m sure many others will benefit from them too! Happy sushi making!
Yup! hien is correct. The proper way to stop the shrimp from curling when frying is to first make several little slits ACROSS the belly of each shrimp. (Note: “across” is different from “along”!) Also be careful not to slice all the way/too much through the shrimp. The shrimp will then become all skinny and long when you lay it out, like hien describe.
described* uhm, sorry, compulsive tense correcting!
How many shrimp will this make?
Rei - Thanks for the tips!
Anonymous - If you use large shrimp, this should make about 12-18 shrimp, depending on how heavily battered you make them.
I have tried taking boxed tempura and frying it so I can crunch it for the crunchie on my sushi, but it never turns out right. It is doughy too much. So someone said for me to get wontons and fry them and crunch them up and that might work for the crunchie for sushi.
thanks for the tips. i would be trying to cook tempura this comming weekend hopefully.
tina - Wontons might work, or you can try getting panko and using that… I think that might work better.
dok - Awesome… let me know how that goes and if you get any good sushi ideas out of it!
it’s been really helpful, thanks mate!
i gonna try to make my tempura soon…
btw i’m a commercial cookery student at present…
Thanks!
[...] ingredients for making tempura [...]
I recently had a heated debate with my husband and his best mate (one who managed a restaurant, the other was an apprentice chef) about whether a tempura batter can be still classed as tempura if beer is used instead of water ?? They were adament it was not a tempura. Any experts out there who can assist ?
[...] are 2 ways to make/have Japanese fried food. One is by flour and ice cold water which is called a Tempura batter and the other one is by using Panko breading with meat [...]
I would say it is… but I’m no expert. I’ll pose the question to my readers, and see what the general consensus is!
I did some shrimp last night that were absolutely delicious. I simply cleaned, deveined and butterflied them. Then I coated them in flour, eggwash, then Panko crumbs(pre-toasted) and baked them in a 375 oven for about 15-20 minutes.
Hint: Sprinkle Panko crumbs onto a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over them. Stir well with a rubber spatula, then bake in oven for about 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned prior to using on shrimp. You ‘ll swear you fried them. The results were awsome.
That sounds great! Panko is another great way to bake or fry foods like shrimp, but it is different from tempura. Panko-coated foods are more like stuff coated with bread crumbs, while tempura is more like beer battered foods. Very different, but both are delicious!
Is there a premixed Tempura product named KRARSTURS. I was told that resturants use this and that it was sold by Smart and final but the stores around my home donot sell it, can you help??