Prawn Tempura
Light, crisp prawn tempura with a cold sparkling-water batter and a bright soy-mirin dipping sauce — perfect for a Japanese-style starter.
Crisp, feather-light prawn tempura is one of those dishes that looks fancy but plays fair in a home kitchen. The trick is a cold, lumpy batter and frying at the right temperature so you get a hollow, crunchy shell around tender prawns.
Make this as a starter for a Japanese-themed supper or as part of a sharing plate. Serve immediately with the soy-mirin dipping sauce and plenty of napkins — tempura is best eaten hot and crisp.
Ingredients
- 16 large raw king prawns — peeled, tails left intact, deveined
- 150 g plain flour
- 50 g cornflour
- 1 large egg
- 300 ml sparkling water — very cold, straight from the fridge
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 l vegetable oil — for deep-frying
- 60 ml light soy sauce
- 60 ml mirin
- 120 ml water
- 15 g caster sugar
- 100 g daikon radish — peeled and grated
- 1 lemon — cut into wedges
Equipment
- deep-fat thermometer
- slotted spoon or spider
- wire rack
- baking tray
Instructions
Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper. Make a couple of shallow slits along the underside of each prawn and press gently so they lie straight when fried; season lightly with half the fine sea salt.
Make the dipping sauce: combine light soy sauce, mirin, water and caster sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over a medium heat just until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Stir in the grated daikon just before serving.
Make the batter: in a bowl, whisk together plain flour, cornflour and the remaining fine sea salt. In a separate small bowl, beat the large egg lightly then add the very cold sparkling water. Pour the liquid into the dry mix and stir once or twice with chopsticks or a fork — the batter should be lumpy and barely combined.
Cover the batter and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to relax the gluten and keep it cold.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep heavy-based saucepan or deep-fat fryer to 180°C. Use a deep-fat thermometer to check the temperature; maintain 170–180°C while frying.
Dust each prawn lightly in plain flour (shake off excess), dip into the chilled batter to coat, and carefully lower into the oil in small batches so the temperature recovers quickly. Fry each batch for about 2 minutes until pale gold and crisp.
Remove prawns with a slotted spoon or spider and drain on a wire rack set over a baking tray lined with kitchen paper for a minute. Sprinkle immediately with the remaining fine sea salt and serve with the dipping sauce and lemon wedges.
Tips
- Keep everything cold: chill the sparkling water and the batter — the temperature difference is what gives tempura its signature texture.
- Work in small batches so the oil temperature stays consistent; use a thermometer to maintain 170–180°C.
- Do not overmix the batter — a few lumps are desirable and overworking develops gluten, making the coating heavy.
- If you need to hold cooked tempura briefly, keep it on a wire rack in a low oven (100°C fan/120°C conventional) for up to 10 minutes to stay crisp.
- Use plain flour for dusting so the batter adheres; cornflour in the mix helps the batter stay light and crunchy.
Substitutions
large raw king prawns → large peeled prawns (jumbo prawns) or raw scallops, same quantity
Stays closesparkling water → very cold soda water or iced water with a couple of ice cubes stirred in
Stays closeplain flour → gluten-free plain flour blend (ensure it contains a binder like xanthan gum), same weight
Noticeably differentlight soy sauce → tamari for a gluten-free dipping sauce
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 425
- Calories
- 28 g
- Protein
- 39 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 1400 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Why is my tempura batter soggy after frying?
Usually because the batter was overmixed, too warm, or the oil temperature was too low. Make sure the batter is very cold, stir it only a few times so lumps remain, and fry at 170–180°C in small batches.
Can I make the batter ahead of time?
You can mix the dry ingredients ahead, but mix in the egg and sparkling water only 30–40 minutes before frying and chill the batter. Batter left too long loses its fizz and the result is heavy.
How do I tell when oil is hot enough without a thermometer?
Drop a small bit of batter into the oil — it should sizzle and rise to the surface within a few seconds and turn pale golden. A thermometer is much more reliable, though.
What else can I tempura besides prawns?
Vegetables such as sweet potato, green beans, courgette slices or aubergine work well. Slice thinly so they cook quickly and keep the batter cold.
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