Fish and Seafood Tempura Recipe

Written by
Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and author of four cookbooks. He has expertise in wild foods and has written over 1,000 recipes.
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Hank Shaw
Updated 10/28/19
Tempura

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  • Total: 25 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Yield: 1 pound (4 servings)

Tempura is a Japanese style of deep-frying that uses a feather-light batter and very hot oil to produce a light, crisp crust on anything from vegetables to shrimp to chunks of firm fish such as halibut, whole smelt, even oysters.  

Tempura is about preparation and speed, heat, light, and air. Remember this and you will succeed and make beautiful, crispy, light and healthy fried seafood, yes, healthy. Done properly, the oil in the deep fryer stays in the deep fryer, and you will have with crispy tempura with only a smidge of oil on your food.​

Ingredients

  • 1 pound seafood or fish (in chunks; whole shrimp or oysters are perfect)
  • 1 quart oil (vegetable)
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup rice flour (or all-purpose flour)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 cup sparkling water (ice cold)

Steps to Make It

  1. Lay out a paper towel under a rack to place the fried seafood on. 

  2. Heat the oil to 370 F over medium-high to medium heat in a deep fryer or a deep, heavy pot with a deep-fry thermometer attached to the side. 

  3. Salt the seafood and set it aside.

  4. Mix baking soda, salt, cornstarch, and rice flour in a bowl until they are fully incorporated.

  5. When the oil is hot and not before, whisk the egg yolk and the sparkling water together, then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing well. The consistency of the batter should be like melted ice cream.

  6. Rapidly dip the seafood into the thin batter, shake it off a bit, and drop it into the oil. Do this in batches so the oil temperature does not drop too far. Do not crowd the pot.

  7. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of the seafood. Listen. Do you hear it roiling, popping and sizzling? Good. When you hear this sound subside, remove the fish immediately. Do not use over-large pieces of seafood or you will not get an ethereal crust.

  8. Once the seafood is out of the oil, lay it on the rack to drain. Let the oil come back up to temperature and rapidly prepare another batch and put it into the oil.

  9. If you have more than 1 pound of fish or seafood, make two batches of the tempura batter and add the liquid to the solid ingredients in the second batch only when you have gone through the first pound of fish. This keeps the batter fizzy and the end-result light and crispy.

  10. Serve at once with a cold beer, lemonade, or sparkling wine. Tempura dipping sauces are excellent accompaniments, but a really good tempura dish only needs a squeeze of lemon or lime.

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