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shrimp tempura

Quick & Easy Shrimp Tempura

Christie Lai
Shrimp Tempura. Homemade shrimp tempura with a light crispy coating paired with a delicious dipping sauce. A recipe with a simple 6-ingredient batter! Ready in 20 minutes! The crunchy batter makes this popular dish so addictive!
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 2
Calories per serving 130 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Batter:

  • ¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch
  • ¼ cup cake flour or sub with all-purpose flour but see Notes below
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup water ideally ice cold

Dipping Sauce:

Instructions
 

  • Peel deveined shrimp leaving the tails on. Optional to straighten the shrimp: Turn the shrimp over its back side and make small slits where the feet used to be. The more slits the flatter the shrimp will be. Naturally the shrimp will curl when fried, especially if it's a meatier breed. But the end result will still be delicious!
  • Pat dry the shrimp with paper towel.
  • In a medium bowl, combine batter ingredients as listed above until smooth.
  • Mix shrimp into the batter ensuring it's fully coated.
  • In a large pan or skillet, heat vegetable oil or any neutral oil on medium high heat until you reach 350 degrees F with a digital instant read cooking thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, place a wooden spoon into the hot oil and if you see bubbles rapidly forming, your oil is hot enough.
  • Lower battered shrimp into the hot oil away from you. Fry in small batches, about 3-4 pieces per batch. Do not overcrowd the pan. Drizzle 2 teaspoon of excess batter on top of each piece of shrimp, flip it over and fry for 1 minute or until crispy.
    Then drizzle another 2 teaspoon of batter on top of the shrimp, flip over and fry for another 1 minute or until it's crispy and shrimp is pink.
  • Remove fried shrimp with tongs or a slotted spoon and transfer to a wire rack or paper towel baking sheet to allow excess oil to drip off.
  • Between batches, remove any browned or crispy tempura bits in the oil with a mesh scoop (these can cause the oil to taste burnt). Repeat the above steps for the remaining shrimp.
  • In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients together and serve with shrimp tempura.

Notes

If you Don't Have Cake Flour:

  1. Measure out ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  2. Then remove ½ tablespoon of it 
  3. Then replace with ½ tablespoon cornstarch. Whisk well. 
Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 0.4mg