Easy Appetizer Recipes
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Tempura Shrimp Recipe
Tempura is a Japanese dish that calls for shrimp to be battered in a specific type of batter known as tempura batter. It is a specific mixture of egg and flour, but it can even be used to batter chicken, fish, or even ice cream. While tempura is usually used for shrimp, it can also be made with vegetables. Vegetable tempura is some of the most common food you will find on the side of the street in Japan, but there is nothing like a good shrimp tempura to make your party look and taste just that much better.
The following recipe for shrimp tempura requires that you find some of the large or jumbo shrimp that is usually sold in special seafood markets. The tempura mixture itself is a simple one that is made using eggs, flour, and ice water. The ice water is used to ensure that the tempura is crispy, rather than fluffy like the batter usually is. Making the tempura this way will ensure that it is as authentic as possible, and the only thing that you are missing is a pinch of salt before deep frying the battered shrimp until they are golden brown.
When making tempura, you may find that the shrimp are slightly tasteless. You will find that making a dipping sauce is the best way to ensure that it is a tasty dish. Many people use BBQ sauce for dipping their tempura shrimp, but marinara sauce is another alternative that is far less sugary or sweet. You can use Mexican salsa, as the tomatoes in the salsa will contrast nicely with the shrimp. You can even consider using ranch or blue cheese dressing, though the best dip will be a spicy dip like salsa.
Japanese Shrimp Tempura
Ingredients -
16 large or jumbo shrimp
3 eggs
3 cups of ice water
3 cups of all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
To begin, crack the eggs into a mixing bowl. Beat them well with a whisk or egg beater, and make sure that they are very fluffy.
Add the ice water into the bowl with the egg, and mix carefully. Stir the flour into the mix, and beat thoroughly to ensure that there are no lumps.
Place a skillet on the fire to heat, filling it with oil for deep frying your tempura. Let it heat until it begins to boil.
Once the oil is boiling, grab hold of the shrimp by their tails and dip as much of the shrimp as you can into the batter.
Place the battered shrimp into the boiling oil, and let the shrimp deep fry until golden brown. Once they have thoroughly fried, remove them from the pan, and place them in a sieve or on paper towels to drain the oil.
Serve with a special dipping sauce or salsa to enhance the flavor of the shrimp, but warn those who eat them that the tail may not be edible.
(Serves 6)
Tempura Shrimp Recipe
Photo Description:
Serving this classic Japanese dish is a great way to give your family a taste of some of the delights of the Orient, and you may find that your family will love this dish as much as your guests will. It may be slightly costly to purchase a number of the jumbo shrimp, particularly if you live far away from the coast or an area that is famous for its shrimp. Despite the high cost, it will be well worth it to purchase the jumbo shrimp just to be able to prepare this delightful dish. You can have fun experimenting with different dipping sauces to determine which one will be the most popular, but the classic marinara sauce is the one that is most commonly eaten outside of Japan. In Japan, there is a special sauce that is used to flavor many of the dishes, but it is hard to find unless you are living in Japan.
