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
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
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Table of contents
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Frequent Questions
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.
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.
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.
Photos used in a previous version of this post.
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.
So glad you enjoyed the Shrimp Susan!
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?
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!
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!
Hello, I cannot find the Dashi Soup Stock anywhere. What can I substitute it with?
I AGREE!
Can you substitute sprite for club soda or is it too sweet?
Its likely that it would be too sweet.
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 🙂
It may change the crispness a bit but experimentation is always fun.
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.
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!
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!
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!
Thank you Karen!
Hi Sabrina! What if I don’t have seltzer water? Would beer work? Or i have diet coke. Lol.
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. 😉
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!
It should be able to stand alone but adding the salt isn’t a bad idea either.
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.
Thanks for the feedback, Lori.
Everything was wonderful. Thank you so much. I love your recipes and everyone else will too. God Bless.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Susan. You’re too kind.
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.
I’m so honored to be considered a “keeper recipe”. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
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.
Thanks for coming back to let me know, Mike. I appreciate the 5 star rating.
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.
Thanks for the 5 stars, Theresa.
Excellent, nice and crispy, great flavor, i made a dipping sauce and used pineapple, terrific,.
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!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed it, Mary Ann.
can I use peanut oil for frying the shimp?
Sure 🙂
Do the large shrimp cook that quickly?
Yep 🙂
Can this batter be used on chicken?
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!
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.
I made this recipe came out perfect!!! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Keisha.
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.)
Sounds amazing! Thanks for the 5 stars.
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.
So glad you enjoyed it, Patti!
Easy and the shrimp came out light and airy! Thank you for another terrific and EASY recipe!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the 5 star rating.
Can you use this recipe for fish?
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
My kiddos love shrimp, I need to give these a try! They look delish!
I hope you enjoy it!
These look so perfectly crisp and that batter is so simple to prepare.
Thanks Abeer!
Oh I love tempura so much! I can’t wait to try the shrimp recipe!
I hope you enjoy it!
They are so perfectly battered! Amazing.
Thanks Carolyn!
To make it ketogenic, can I use almond or paleo flour instead of white flour?
I’m not familiar with adjustments for that specific diet. Sorry.
Im curious did you try a keto version?
Yum! This looks so crispy and delicious!
Thank you!
This is the best way to enjoy fried shrimp.
It’s so good!