Quick and Easy Shrimp Tempura

Jack has been craving fried shrimp lately, so when I asked him, "What do you want for dinner tonight?" He replied, "I really want fried shrimp!" I grabbed the shrimp out of the freezer and did a quick search on Food Network. Our Disney Family Cookbook had a recipe for Vegetable Tempura that we loved, so I knew I could use it if I needed to (I just don't enjoy the fried splattered kitchen that comes with preparing fried foods without a deep fryer). When comparing the recipes they were quite different in the ratios of flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. So I guess I will have to post the vegetable tempura recipe at a later time. I was pleased with how quickly this tempura came together and Jack was pleased with the meal, so it was a win/win situation.

Shrimp Tempura

Soak the Shrimp in a Brine for 20 minutes

The recipe I printed called for 1/2 cup rice wine (which I didn't have on hand and probably don't have readily available to me at the local grocery store) and 1/4 teaspoon salt. For 1/2 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined.

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 lb frozen, peeled and deveined Shrimp thawed.

Brine under refrigeration

For the Tempura Batter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup ice water

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 egg yolk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

In a medium bowl, mix together all the batter ingredients. Dip shrimp into the flour mixture until coated with flour mixture (2-3 at a time works). Carefully place a few shrimp at a time in the hot oil (375 F Degrees) and deep fry until golden brown on all sides, about 1 1/2 minutes total. (I usually watch for the shrimp to start turning pink and then flip them to cook the other side. I more or less pan fry mine, because I don't want to waste so much oil just to fry food. If you have a deep fryer, let it do its thing! ;-)) Remove the shrimp when cooked to a plate lined with paper towels.

You can serve it with extra soy sauce, duck sauce, or any other favorite oriental sauces.