Tempura shrimp is one of the most popular dishes in Japanese cuisine, which is equally relished around the Globe. In Japan, tempura shrimp is known as Ebiten, prepared by coating raw shrimp in a thin crispy batter and then frying to blazing perfection. This cooking method is known as Hanaage in the land of the rising Sun, where Hana means flower and age refers to deep-frying. The tempura batter is made with all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, and ice-cold water.
Salt and pepper are used for seasoning, and the baking powder gives fluffiness to the crispy coat. In this way, the savoury coating and the sweetness of the shrimp combine heavenly to fulfil your appetite. For enhanced flavour and aroma, use fresh shrimp instead of frozen ones. But what to serve with tempura shrimp? Traditionally, it is served with boiled rice, soba noodles, and stir-fried veggies like daikon radish, carrots, and broccoli. Nevertheless, you can serve tempura shrimp with many side dishes and sauces. To know it all, read on.
Table of Contents:
- What Is Tempura Shrimp?
- How To Make Tempura Shrimp For Rice And Noodles?
- Tips To Make The Best Tempura Shrimp For Rice
- What To Serve With Tempura Shrimp?
- The Best Side Dishes
- Boiled Rice
- Fried Rice
- Boiled Soba Noodles
- Stir-Fried Vegetables
- Steamed Vegetables
- Salads
- Chicken Yakitori
- The Best Tempura Shrimp Sauces
- Tsuyu
- Cocktail Sauce
- Orange Chilli Sauce
- Soy Ginger Sauce
- Thai Dipping Sauce
- Honey Mustard Sauce
- The Best Side Dishes
- Conclusion
What Is Tempura Shrimp?
The term tempura is a Japanese word used to refer to seafood or vegetables prepared by dipping them in a batter and deep frying them in hot oil. Tempura shrimp is a delectable dish in Japanese cuisine made by frying sweet and savoury shrimp with crispy batter and crumbs. Even though it is a dish of great perfection and exquisite flavours, it could get boring if you consume it the same way every time. Therefore, we have summarized some side dishes and sauces to answer the common query, “what to serve with tempura shrimp?”
How To Make Tempura Shrimp For Rice And Noodles?
Here’s a quick recipe to make tempura shrimp for rice and noodles.
What You’ll Need
- Shrimp (as many as you need)
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs (quantity depends on the number of shrimp)
- Ice-cold Water
- Vegetable Oil
How To Do It
- For mess-free work, gather all ingredients and required kitchen supplies.
- Wash the shrimp thoroughly and remove the heads, shells, and veins but leave the tails on
- Make short, equidistant cuts along the length of the shrimp to straighten it.
- Pat dry the shrimp using a kitchen paper towel.
- Take a bowl and beat eggs in it. Then, add all-purpose flour (sifted to avoid lumps), baking powder, salt, and ice-cold water to make fluffy, savoury tempura batter.
- Then, take a deep pan and add enough oil to deep fry the shrimp.
- Heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 176 degrees Celcius.
- Lightly coat the shrimp in the flour and then dip each in the liquid batter.
- Pick them from the tail side, and deep fry them to golden brown crisp
- Boil the rice or soba noodles according to the labelled method.
- Prepare traditional tempura shrimp sauce using soy sauce, ginger, honey, brown sugar, olive oil, sesame seeds, or any specific taste enhancer such as mustard.
- Stir fry your favourite vegetables, present and serve the succulent tempura shrimp hot
Tips To Make The Best Tempura Shrimp For Rice
Follow the below tips to make the exquisitely delicious tempura shrimp. The best tempura shrimp are crispy outside and juicy inside with a light and savoury coating that blends perfectly with the sweetness of the protein.
- Ensure that you use ice-cold water to make a light batter
- Do not overmix or whisk the tempura batter or avoid preparing it too early, or the batter will become heavy
- Use chopsticks to blend eggs and flour and to fold in more air for the light and crispy batter
- Pat dry the shrimp properly to adhere the batter well
- Ensure that the oil is adequately hot; if the oil temperature is less warm, tempura batter will absorb oil and become heavily greasy.
What To Serve With Tempura Shrimp?
Tempura shrimp is a light and appetizing meal; that’s why to enhance its satiety value, it is served with many side dishes. The side dishes must also be light main courses or partial filling sides. The following are the best side dishes and sauces you can serve with tempura shrimp to add to its exquisite flavour and filling value.
The Best Side Dishes
Different countries serve different meals with tempura shrimp. Here are some dishes below that are enjoyed in almost every region of the World.
Boiled Curried Rice
It is an Asian dish which is now quite popular in American and European localities due to its earthy flavor, exotic aroma, and ease of preparation. It’s a dish that you can cook from scratch, even with leftovers. For this light and delectable meal, boil the rice according to the labelled method. Then, prepare Asian or Japanese curry with aromatic spices and herbs such as turmeric, curry leaves, red chillies, cumin, and ginger. Lastly, cook tempura shrimp according to the above method and serve them with this mouth-watering curried rice.
Fried Rice
What’s even more appealing and appetizing than curried rice? Surely, the fried rice. You can prepare fried rice from the leftover boiled rice by merely tossing them in butter and adding stir-fried veggies in just 15 minutes. Moreover, you can also prepare a curry to serve with fried rice and tempura shrimp.
Boiled Soba Noodles
Soba Noodles are the typical Japanese food element with an enriching earthy flavor that combines well with sweet and sour tempura shrimp. These are made of buckwheat, so people with a gluten allergy can also consume them happily. Moreover, you can serve hot or cold soba noodles, but serving them with tempura shrimp requires slightly warm noodles. You can easily prepare them in minutes since the process only requires boiling. In addition, adding boiled or fried eggs with chilli sauce can make a perfectly cooked Japanese dish.
Stir-Fried Vegetables
Stir-fried vegetables are enjoyed in every country; however, the preparation method varies from region to region. You can simply soak the veggies of your choice in vinegar and green chillies to add to the spicy and tangy flavor. Then, stir-fry them till they become tender but with a crunchy texture. For an original recipe of tempura shrimp with stir-fried vegetables, you can prepare veggies by adding mirin, soy sauce, oil, and rice vinegar for an earthy and tangy flavor.
Steamed Vegetables
You can try steamed vegetables if you don’t want to consume fatty acids and want a healthier alternative to serving with tempura shrimp. For this side dish, wash and cut vegetables of your choice. Take a pan and steamer basket. Coat vegetables with salt, pepper, and cilantro and add them to the steamer basket over the water pan to create steam. Moreover, it will only take twenty minutes to cook steamed vegetables to serve with tempura shrimp.
Salads
There are a variety of salads you can serve with tempura shrimp for a refreshing start to your meals. The meal is a light side dish you can serve before the main course. You can try a crisp salad with crispy-leaf veggies such as icebergs, celery, carrots, scallions, and radish. Add an earthy and tangy dressing to compliment the tempura shrimp’s sweet and umami flavor. You can make the traditional Japanese dressing with rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame seeds. Moreover, for an acidic and zesty flavor, you can make salad dressing with white vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil- the special Turkish salad dressing.
Chicken Yakitori
Chicken Yakitori is again a popular Japanese dish that is traditionally served with tempura shrimp- the popular nosh of the land of the rising Sun. Moreover, it’s best to prepare for the BBQ on summer nights since the meal is light and healthy. It takes only half an hour to make Chicken Yakitori. For the ultimate umami flavour, take chicken breast cubes and marinate them with vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Then, skewer them and grill them on a BBQ tray. You can also make fried or boiled rice with chicken Yakitori and tempura shrimp to convert this side dish into a main course meal.
The Best Tempura Shrimp Sauces
Do you want to eat tempura shrimp with something else that adds to its satiety, value and flavor? How about trying different sauces that go well with tempura shrimp? Here are some enlisted below.
Tsuyu
Tusuyu sauce is a popular dipping sauce used to serve various Japanese meals, including tempura shrimp. Though making it is intricate, its taste makes the meals super tangy and umami. It is made with soy sauce, dried kelp, and rice wine.
Cocktail Sauce
Cocktail sauce is best enjoyed with tempura shrimp alone. It is prepared with ketchup, tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, lemon juice, and zest.
Orange Chilli Sauce
Orange chilli sauce goes well with tempura shrimp, especially at beach parties. For this recipe, add orange juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and chilli flakes together in a pan. Heat it for about three minutes. Then, add cornstarch paste to get the required consistency. Dip it over hot tempura shrimp and enjoy the tangy, spicy, and umami flavor.
Soy Ginger Sauce
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, and sesame oil in a pan for the traditional Japanese soy ginger sauce. Then, add minced garlic, chopped green onions, and grated ginger to fire up the tangy, savory taste.
Thai Dipping Sauce
The Thai dipping sauce has a great umami flavor that combines well with sweet and zesty tempura shrimp. Add lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, red chillies, green chillies, cilantro, shallots, garlic, and water for this recipe. Combine all ingredients and let them sit for an hour to get the enriched flavor out of the ingredients.
Honey Mustard Sauce
If you want to enjoy tempura shrimp alone and want a maximum satiety value, try the honey mustard sauce that’s quite easy to prepare. Combine mayonnaise, white vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Conclusion
Tempura shrimp is a popular Japanese dish celebrated and relished around the Globe. Since it is a light meal with a less satiety value, it is served as an appetizer. Nevertheless, combining many side dishes and mouth-watering heavy sauces can increase its filling value. The best-served are Japanese sidedishes since they best complement the sweet, tangy, and umami flavor of tempura shrimp.
However, you can also prepare meals popular in your locality but ensure that the taste of shrimp blends well with the spices and condiments you add. Furthermore, people love curried rice, fried rice, and soba noodles with tempura shrimp. Among sauces, honey mustard, orange chilli, ginger sesame, and Thai dipping sauce are the most delectable and palatable. Try the above sides, salads and dressings.
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