Shrimp Tempura – A Delicious Snack With Drinks

The classic ultra-light batter is perfect with prawns for a light snack with drinks or as part of a Japanese feast. Japanese Prawn Tempura are light and crispy batter-fried prawns. This is a quick recipe and you can easily make it at home. Serve with hot Schezwan sauce or sweet chili sauce. Tempura is a well-known Japanese dish where vegetables or seafood are first dipped in a tempura batter and deep-fried in oil.

Ingredients

For the batter

• 75g/2½oz cornflour
• 75g/2½oz plain flour
• 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
• 188ml/6½fl oz beer

For the prawn tempura

• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 50g/2oz plain flour
• 1.5kg/3lb 5oz uncooked king prawns, shells and central veins removed
• soy sauce, to serve

Method

1. For the batter, sift the cornflour and flour together into a medium bowl.

2. Make a well in the centre and add the egg and beer and whisk from the centre outwards, until just combined (it is okay if the batter is a little lumpy). Allow the batter to stand for a few minutes in a cool place.

3. Heat the oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

4. Place the flour onto a plate and dredge the prawns into it to cover well. Dip the prawns into the batter and carefully add to the hot oil to deep-fry in batches for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp and golden.

5. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

6. Serve in bowls with a bowl of soy sauce for dipping.