Crispy and Delicious Shrimp Tempura
Easy Homemade Shrimp Tempura Recipe Using Frozen Shrimp
When there’s no meat to grill at home and the fridge is bare, I start rummaging through the freezer! Since I haven’t shopped in a while, there are no sausages, no meat, and not even tofu. TT While searching diligently, I discovered frozen shrimp tucked away in the back of the freezer! My daughter has after-school classes in the evening, so I usually make tempura batter by letting the starch water settle for 3-4 hours. But today, pressed for time, I used a quick method with tempura flour to make a light batter and fry them up. I also found some pre-cooked octopus legs in the freezer, thinly sliced and fried alongside the shrimp for an extra treat! The delightful crunch of the tempura coating and the plump, tender shrimp make this a perfect snack for kids or a great accompaniment to drinks.
Ingredients- 20 frozen shrimp
- 1 pre-cooked octopus leg
- 5 Tbsp tempura flour
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, gently rinse the frozen shrimp under cool running water. It’s a good idea to remove the sharp, water-filled sac at the tip of the shrimp tail. Leaving it on can cause hot oil to splatter dangerously while frying. Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Step 2
To achieve a crispy coating, mix the tempura flour with cold water to create the batter. Aim for a slightly thin consistency; if the batter is too thick, the coating can become heavy and less crispy. Adding 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the batter at the end helps prevent the tempura from absorbing too much oil, resulting in a crispier finish.
Step 3
Before frying, we’ll lightly coat the shrimp and octopus with flour. This helps the tempura batter adhere better. Place the tempura flour in a plastic bag, add the prepared shrimp and octopus, and then inflate the bag like a balloon by holding the opening. Gently shake the bag to evenly coat the shrimp and octopus. This method is much faster and easier than coating them in a bowl.
Step 4
Add the flour-coated shrimp and octopus to the prepared tempura batter and gently mix. Coating them just before frying prevents the tempura batter from becoming too thick.
Step 5
Now it’s time to fry! Starting with oil that’s too hot can burn the outside while leaving the inside undercooked. So, heat the oil over medium heat until it’s properly hot. You can test the oil temperature by dropping a small bit of batter into the oil; if it floats to the surface within a second or two, the temperature is just right. A great tip for perfect tempura is to fry in two stages: first at a lower temperature, then at a higher temperature. This ensures the ingredients don’t absorb too much oil and become extra crispy. Fry them once at a lower temperature, remove them, then increase the oil temperature significantly and fry again until golden brown.
Step 6
Here are the shrimp and octopus after the first fry at a lower temperature. Since the octopus is already cooked, we only fry it once briefly to prevent it from becoming tough. The shrimp, however, are fried a second time in hotter oil until golden and crisp. This double-frying method results in wonderfully crispy on the outside and tender on the inside shrimp tempura.
