Shrimp Tempura

5 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Shrimp Tempura is a favorite Japanese appetizer with a signature light and crispy coating. You will love how easy it is to make at home!

Who can pass up an Asian appetizer platter with crispy deep fried options like these tempura shrimp, Egg Rolls, wonton chips and more. Don’t forget the Sweet and Sour Sauce for dipping.

Sabrina’s Shrimp Tempura Recipe

Shrimp Tempura is a delicious classic Japanese recipe that stands out because of the light, crispy breading that is unlike any other. The idea of frying food at home might seem intimidating, but my recipe is actually pretty easy and you can make it about 15 or 20 minutes. My secret is a super cold batter and swapping water for club soda so you get the perfect crispy coating every time!

Recipe Card

Shrimp Tempura

Shrimp Tempura is a favorite Japanese appetizer with a signature light and crispy coating. You will love how easy it is to make at home!
Yield 5 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Japanese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups club soda , cold
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • vegetable oil , for frying
  • 1 pound shrimp , deveined and shells removed (21-25 count)

Instructions

  • Set a pot of oil (3 inches deep) on medium high until it reaches 375 degrees.
  • Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, kosher salt, and white pepper in a bowl together.
  • Dredge the shrimp lightly in the mixture and set aside.
  • Add in the club soda and whisk, then dip the shrimp in the batter before carefully frying in the oil for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 739mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 280mg | Iron: 3mg

Key Ingredients

  • Shrimp: I used jumbo shrimp. They come about 21-25 per pound which is a good amount for either an appetizer platter or main dish. This size is good for frying and won’t overcook or dry out while the batter cooks through.
  • Baking Powder: This is a key ingredient to getting a light, airy batter that fries into a crispy coating.
  • Corn Starch: Corn starch helps thicken the batter without making it heavy.
  • White Pepper: This pepper is a bit more mild and earthy than black pepper. Plus the light coloring doesn’t leave any black specs in the golden coating.
  • Club Soda: The secret ingredient in tempura batter is ice cold club soda! It amplifies the baking powder by adding air bubbles so you get a puffier, crispier coating.

How to Make

Time needed: 15 minutes

  1. Heat Oil

    Get the oil heated up first so it’s ready when the shrimp is battered. You’re going to deep fry the shrimp so use at least 3 inches of oil in your pot.

  2. Dry Batter

    Combine all the dry batter ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until the batter is fully blended. Do not mix the batter a lot, just until the dry ingredients are combined.

  3. Wet Batter

    After the dry batter is complete, mix the club soda into the dry batter to make it a wet batter. Then dredge the dry-battered shrimp through the wet batter. Also, make sure the club soda is VERY cold (or even put the mixture over a bowl of ice). This is key.
    Shrimp Tempura Collage of batter steps

  4. Fry Shrimp

    Then fry the shrimp until crispy and place on a wire cooling wrap or parchment lined baking sheet. I would not recommend using a plate with paper towels. The paper towels will create steam and you will lose a lot of the crispy texture.
    Shrimp Tempura Collage of frying steps

Frequent Questions

How do you make Homemade Tempura Dipping Sauce?

Combine 1 cup dashi soup stock, ¼ cup mirin, and ¼ cup soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil then allow to cool.

Should I use raw or cooked shrimp for tempura?

Start with raw, peeled and deveined shrimp. Because shrimp cooks so quickly, they will be pink throughout by the time your tempura batter is golden and crispy. If you begin with cooked shrimp, the result will be rubbery inside.

How long do you fry Tempura Shrimp?

Make sure the oil temperature is right even if you have to use a thermometer. You’re looking for 375 degrees for just 2-3 minutes

Vegetable Tempura Variation

Since vegetables won’t cook as quickly as shrimp, the time you spend frying vegetables once covered in batter is only to cook the batter, not the vegetables. Depending on the vegetable, you will need to cook it before frying.

  • Broccoli Florets: Steam for 2 minutes.
  • Carrot Slices: Steam for 3-4 minutes.
  • Sweet Potato slices: boil until fork tender but not falling apart.
  • Onions: Can be used raw, or for 20 seconds.
  • Acorn Squash: Steam until fork tender.
  • Mushrooms: Can be fried raw.
  • Zucchini: Steam for 2 minutes.

Serving Ideas

  • These crispy shrimp go great with classic Asian appetizers like Crab Rangoons and Spring Rolls with your favorite dipping sauces.
  • You can add them to corn or flour tortillas for a crispy fusion taco! Top with shredded cabbage or slaw mix, pickled onions, and Spicy Mayo.
  • Make fried shrimp a little healthier by serving them with brown rice and steamed veggies like my Panda Express Super Greens.

How to Store

  • Serve: Do not leave Tempura Shrimp at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: Sealed in an airtight container, Shrimp Tempura will last in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
  • Freeze: Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a plastic freezer bag up to 2 months. Reheat in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

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Chopsticks holding shrimp  over plated shrimp and sauce.

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Chopsticks holding shrimp up close over more shrimp on plate.
Shrimp plated with rice in bowl
Chopsticks holding shrimp over bowl with rice and shrimp
Bowl of shrimp tempura with rice
Collage of preparing shrimp and cooked shrimp on chopsticks
Shrimp over bowl with rice and sauce, chopstick holding piece
Shrimp in bowl with rice and sauce, chopstick holding piece
Chopstick dipping shrimp into sauce

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Fantastic! Turned out great. Even though we didn’t have club soda on hand, we used seltzer water (very cold). And we took your tip about serving on top of a bowl with ice. Perfection! It added another level to our fondue party.

  2. I do have a question I see on your post your delicious shrimp but also I see a red sauce I have been exhausting myself trying to find the recipe for the authentic American Chinese red sauce do you have a recipe?

    1. If you’re referring to the red sauce in the Shrimp Tempura photos, here is how we make Homemade Tempura Dipping Sauce.
      Combine 1 cup dashi soup stock, ¼ cup mirin, and ¼ cup soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil then allow to cool.
      Enjoy!

  3. My family loves deep fried shrimp but through years of trial and error I never could nail a recipe, until now. This is by far the BEST tempura recipe I have made!! It Is full proof, and as you said, make Darn sure the wet ingredient is cold, I also used a bowl of ice under the bowl of the wet ingredients. This is better then any restaurant shrimp and now all my friends are using this recipe! Thank you!

  4. Hi,

    can I substitute Rice flour for the flour in your recipe? I want to make tempura with your recipe but am curious if rice flour is a similar result? Thanks 🙂

  5. so, you dredge the shrimp in the dry mixture and set aside. then you pour in the club soda into the remaining dry mixture then dip the shrimp again? I’m a bit confused.

    1. Hello Millie, some people add ice water to the mixture but I use club soda to create a lighter texture. The soda provides a degree of extra leavening from its bubbles, making the batter rise better and providing a lighter texture. Hope this clears that up for you. Thank you!

  6. Looks amazing! Gonna try this today, vegs ….hoping to make a teriyake dipping sauce w it.. im looking for a brown gravy thats used for chicken n broccoli, theres many ice tried but, come short of flavor….love gravies!

  7. I would give a 10 stars if I could! There were leftovers as we all got full! I also did tempura green beans, just going to the garden and picking them. Lol. I didn’t have the club soda, so I used a Flat Tire ale These are the most amazing shrimp, better than a restaurant, I have ever had. Even after 2 hrs, they’re still crispy and delicious! Thank you 1000 times thank you for posting this recipe!

    1. Beer’s what I’m planning to use!
      I think a really ‘fizzy’, canned beer will work best.
      I can’t wait to try it!!!
      I’ll report my findings. 😉

  8. If you have picky eaters who won’t want the dipping sauce, is this batter seasoned enough, or should I add a bit of salt?

    Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it!

  9. This recipe is outstanding! Made with gluten free flour and cold seltzer water, also; sifted dry ingredients before adding the seltzer water. Made one and a half times the batter which was perfect for 2 lbs of shrimp and one and a half sliced yellow squash. Family could not stop complimenting the dinner, said it was “restaurant quality” and I completely agree. Thank You Sabrina for posting! I highly recommend your recipe and will be making again. Side note: made Creamy Honey Dipping Sauce since I did not have ingredients for typical tempura dipping sauce. It was a wonderful choice, will use as my new “go to” dressing.

  10. Sabrina,
    So easy to make, so crispy and golden and very delicious. My husband and l were impressed. I will be making this again and including it in my keepers recipe book.
    Now I am dedicating the rest of my night to investigating your website
    Many thanks from Kelly inCanada.

  11. Batter turned out perfect, used some left-over honey dip from your Chinese Honey Chicken recipe which was fantastic with the shrimp.

    Also fried some Tilapia in the same batter and that turned out awesome as well, with Garlic Aioli for dipping.

    So overall, easily the best tempura batter I’ve tried and very versatile for different types of meat.

  12. This is the BEST Tempura Shrimp ever! I’ve been trying for more years than I care to share to find a recipe like the one my Aunt Jane used to make. Thank you – this is it!! It is crisp and light, and the tips you provided were very helpful. I prepared a Japanese Tare sauce for dipping and it was amazing.

  13. Excellent, nice and crispy, great flavor, i made a dipping sauce and used pineapple, terrific,.

  14. I had been craving shrimp tempura for days now and found this recipe. This recipe is great! The shrimp tempura came out deliciously crispy! It was easy so make, although I didn’t have club soda so I used ice cold water and still came out great! Thank you! Hit the spot!

    1. Yes though you may need to make a few adjustments. I would suggest cutting your chicken into thin strips. You may need to increase the cook time to 4-5 minutes as well. Hope this helps!

  15. What a great batter, so light and crispy. This is a little thicker than I think of for tempura batter, but it was great nonetheless . I tried it on chicken strips and I’d definitely use it for fish tacos where this would be perfect. I also did 1/2 inch coins of a small tempura without cooking first and it was just right.

  16. These shrimp tempura turned out awesome! Great recipe… I didn’t have club soda, so I used really cold beer. Delicious, crispy, and light! I had extra batter, so I made sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans as well. Perfect! (They also reheat well in the airfryer.)

  17. I made this and it was good. I also did 1″ Swai squares and pre-steamed veggies, also good! All cooked about the same amount of time.