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Japanese

Shrimp and vegetable tempura

Non-vegetarian

天ぷら · tenpura

Shrimp and seasonal vegetables dipped in an ice-cold, barely mixed batter and fried until light and lacy, served with a dashi dipping sauce.

Shrimp and vegetable tempura is a Japanese main course, ready in about 45 minutes and made with prawns / shrimp and all-purpose flour. It serves 3 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Deliciously prepared Japanese tempura featuring shrimp and vegetables on a dark plate.
Photo: Noemí Jiménez / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
25 min
Cook
20 min
Total
45 min
Serves
3
Level
Advanced
Calories
514

Ingredients

3 servings

For the batter

For the dipping sauce

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Simmer the dashi (opens in a new tab), soy sauce (opens in a new tab) and mirin (opens in a new tab) together for 1 minute for the dipping sauce; keep warm.

    • 3 min
    • medium heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Pat the shrimp (opens in a new tab) and vegetables completely dry. Heat the oil to 175 °C.

  3. Step 3

    Just before frying, beat the egg (opens in a new tab) into the ice-cold water, then add the flour and stir only a few strokes with chopsticks — lumps are fine.

    • 1 min

    Overmixing develops gluten and makes the coating heavy.

  4. Step 4

    Dust each piece lightly in a little extra flour, dip in batter and fry a few at a time until pale golden and crisp: vegetables 2–3 minutes, shrimp (opens in a new tab) about 2 minutes.

    • 12 min
    • 175°C

    Food safety: Shrimp are done when opaque and pink. Never leave hot oil unattended, keep the pan no more than a third full and lower food in away from you. Keep a lid nearby to smother any flare-up — never use water.

  5. Step 5

    Drain on a rack and serve immediately with the warm dipping sauce, grated daikon (opens in a new tab) and ginger.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Japan · Commonly attributedBatter-frying is widely credited to Portuguese influence in the 16th century; tempura as known today developed in Japan.More food from Japan
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Appetizers & starters
    Cooking method
    Deep-fried
    Taste
    savoury, umami, mild
    Diet
    Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
    All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Festive & celebration
    Cook more with
    Prawns / shrimp · All-purpose flour · Sweet potato · Eggplant · Shiitake mushrooms · Egg
    Techniques
    Deep-frying · Simmering

    Allergens

    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom dashi
    • Contains: Crustaceansfrom prawns / shrimp
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce
    • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    514 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 401 g · recipe makes 3

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 15%
    • Carbohydrate 32%
    • Fat 53%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy514 kcal128 kcal
    Protein18.3 g4.6 g
    Carbohydrate40.6 g10.1 g
    Net carbohydrate——
    Sugars——
    Added sugars——
    Fibre——
    Fat29.7 g7.4 g
    Saturated fat——
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol——
    Sodium1139 mg284 mg
    Salt equivalent2.8 g0.7 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    676 mg
    Calcium
    73 mg
    Iron
    2.8 mg
    Magnesium
    66 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    —
    Vitamin C
    —
    Vitamin D
    —
    Vitamin B12
    —
    Folate (DFE)
    —

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: daikon, fresh ginger.
    • Dashi: Home-prepared fish stock (FDC 172885) used as a stand-in for katsuobushi-kombu dashi; both are very low in energy.
    • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Keep the batter cold — set the bowl over ice if frying in many batches.
    • Skim stray bits of batter from the oil between batches.

    Common mistakes

    • Making the batter ahead; it must be mixed at the last moment.

    Serve with

    • Serve with rice, or over soba or udon in broth.

    Storage

    • Best eaten immediately.

    Reheating

    • Re-crisp leftovers in a 200 °C oven for 5 minutes.

    Variations

    • Kakiage: Shredded vegetables and small shrimp bound in batter and fried as fritters.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 2, 4, 5

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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