Shrimp Tempura

Step 1

Gather Tempura sauce ingredients.

Step 2

Combine dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and let it simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 3

To prepare shrimp, follow the instruction on how to straighten the shrimp.

Step 4

In a wok or a medium-size pot, heat 1 ½" (3 cm) of the oil to 340-350 ºF (170-180 ºC) and maintain the oil temperature at all times. You can check the temperature with chopsticks or with a thermometer. When you see small bubbles around chopsticks, it’s ready for deep frying. If you want to read more about deep frying tips, please read this post.

Step 5

Gather Tempura batter ingredients.

Step 6

Sift the flour into a large bowl.

Step 7

Add the egg into very cold water.

Step 8

Whisk the egg mixture vigorously and discard the foam on the surface.

Step 9

Slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour. Mix the batter but do not over mix; it's okay to leave some lumps in the batter. Keep the batter cold all the time. Make batter right before deep frying to avoid activation of wheat gluten.

Step 10

Dust potato starch (or cornstarch) over the shrimp. This will help the shrimp adhere to the tempura batter.

Step 11

Coat the shrimp in the batter.

Step 12

Deep fry the shrimp until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Do not crowd the wok (pot) because the oil temperature will drop quickly. Don't overcook the shrimp; otherwise, the texture will be tough and dry. Transfer the Shrimp Tempura to a wire rack or a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil. Between batches, skim the crumbs in the oil, which will burn and turn the oil darker if left in the wok (pot).

Step 13

Grate the daikon and squeeze the liquid out.

Step 14

Serve shrimp tempura with warm tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon on the side. Put some grated daikon in the dipping sauce and dip the tempura in the sauce to enjoy.