Equipment
Ingredients
Prawns
- 12 black tiger prawns, peeled, deveined, tail-on
- 20 g cake flour, for dredging
Tentsuyu (Dipping Sauce)
- 120 ml dashi stock
- 30 ml soy sauce
- 30 ml mirin
Tempura Batter
- 100 g cake flour, sifted
- 150 ml ice water
- 1 egg yolk, cold
Frying
- 1000 ml neutral oil
- 50 ml toasted sesame oil
Accompaniments
- 50 g daikon radish, peeled and finely grated
- 30 g pickled ginger, gari style
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 207 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbohydrates
- 25 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 622 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- 162 mg
- Potassium
- 343 mg
- Calcium
- 70 mg
- Iron
- 2.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 42 mg
- Phosphorus
- 233 mg
- Zinc
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 15 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 0 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.3 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.29 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.19 mg
- Niacin
- 2.6 mg
- Folate
- 67 mcg
- Water
- 161 g
- Alcohol
- 1 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Prepare the prawns using the nobashi technique. Make 4-5 shallow diagonal incisions along the belly (underside) of each prawn. Place the prawn belly-down on the cutting board and firmly but gently press along the back with your fingers until you feel the tendons snap. This straightens the prawn and prevents curling during cooking.
In a small saucepan, combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. Bring to a gentle simmer, then turn off the heat. Transfer to serving bowls and keep warm.
Fill a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with the neutral oil and toasted sesame oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the deep-fry thermometer registers 170°C (340°F).
Just before frying, prepare the batter. In a mixing bowl, combine the cold egg yolk and ice water. Add the sifted cake flour and use chopsticks to stab and lightly fold the mixture. Stop mixing when the flour is barely incorporated; large lumps of dry flour should still be visible.
Dredge the straightened prawns very lightly in the extra cake flour, shaking off any excess. Holding a prawn by the tail, dip it into the batter to coat, then gently lower it into the 170°C (340°F) oil. Repeat with a few more prawns, avoiding overcrowding the pot.
Remove the fried prawns from the oil using chopsticks or a slotted spoon and immediately place them on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain excess oil. Skim any loose pieces of batter (tenkasu) from the oil before frying the next batch.
Serve the prawn tempura immediately while perfectly hot and crisp. Accompany with the warm tentsuyu dipping sauce, a small mound of grated daikon to mix into the sauce, and a side of pickled ginger to cleanse the palate between bites.
Chef's Notes
- The secret to shatteringly crisp tempura lies in thermal shock. The high contrast between the ice-cold batter and the hot oil creates the signature lacy, aerated structure.
- Do not skip scraping the moisture out of the prawn tail tips. The trapped liquid inside the tail will violently pop when it hits hot oil, creating a severe burn hazard.
- A blend of neutral oil and toasted sesame oil is a hallmark of Edomae (Tokyo-style) tempura, imparting a beautiful golden hue and a subtle, nutty aroma that complements seafood perfectly.
- Never rest freshly fried tempura on paper towels. The steam gets trapped between the batter and the paper, immediately making the bottom soggy. Always use a wire rack.
Storage
Troubleshooting
Batter is heavy, doughy, or bready instead of light and crisp.
Cause: The batter was overmixed, developing gluten, or the water was not cold enough.
Fix: Cannot be fixed for the current batch. Discard remaining batter and make a fresh, cold, loosely-mixed batch for the remaining prawns.
Prevention: Ensure water is ice-cold. Mix with chopsticks using a stabbing motion rather than whisking, leaving visible dry flour lumps. Make the batter immediately before frying.
Prawns curl tightly into a 'C' shape during frying.
Cause: The tendons on the underside of the prawn were not properly severed (nobashi technique skipped or improperly executed).
Fix: Cannot be fixed once heat hits the protein.
Prevention: Make deeper diagonal cuts along the belly and gently bend the prawn backward until you feel the inner muscle fibers pop and release.
Batter falls off the prawn entirely in the oil.
Cause: The prawn surface was too moist, or not lightly dusted with dry flour before dipping.
Fix: Cannot be fixed.
Prevention: Pat the prawns perfectly dry with paper towels and lightly dredge in plain cake flour before dipping into the wet batter.
Cultural Context
Tempura was introduced to Japan in the 16th century by Portuguese missionaries and merchants living in Nagasaki. Originally a heavy fritter, Japanese chefs over the centuries refined the batter into the impossibly light, crisp, and minimalist coating seen today, making it a cornerstone of Japanese gastronomy.
