Every sushi enthusiast has probably heard of and tried sushi tempura. There are many types of sushi tempura made from different ingredients, but in essence, they are all called sushi tempura, so what is sushi tempura really, and how is it made? Keep reading and find out.
Sushi tempura is a sushi roll that is made with tempura fish, shrimp, or vegetables. The roll is dipped in tempura batter, then breadcrumbs, and then deep fried in the oil. Also, the main ingredient can be fried, so instead of raw fish in a sushi roll, you will be eating fried fish.
There are different kinds of sushi rolls that are made with tempura. Sometimes even the whole rolls are dipped in tempura batter and fried. So let’s find out all about this amazing dish.
Sushi Tempura Is a Deep Fried Roll
If you are a fan of Salmon sashimi or, even better, Hamachi sashimi, then you will not like this dish because it doesn’t have any raw fish inside. Tempura is a term used to refer to the Japanese way of frying different kinds of ingredients, usually fish, shrimp, and vegetables.
All you have to do is to dip the base ingredient into tempura batter and then fry it in oil. You can eat this dish alone or on a sushi roll. However, you can also deep fry the entire roll. First, put it in batter, then into the crunchy breadcrumbs, and then fry it. Many different ingredients can be found in sushi tempura rolls, some of them are:
- Chicken,
- Seafood,
- Shrimps,
- Seaweed,
- Sweet potatoes,
- Squash,
- Shiitake mushrooms,
- Eggplants,
- Zucchini.
How Is Tempura Batter Made?
If you want to make tempura sushi or tempura shrimp, the first thing you have to do is to make the batter. The batter is made from one egg, flour, and ice-cold water. You mix these ingredients to get a dough similar to pancake dough. Dip your base ingredient into the batter and then deep fry it in oil. You can also dip the Uramaki roll into this batter and make fried sushi.
How Is Sushi Tempura Made?
So now that you know what tempura is and how it is made, it is time to explain how sushi tempura is made. So, in essence, sushi tempura is a sushi roll that doesn’t contain raw fish inside but tempura fish, shrimp, or vegetables. To make a roll, you will need sushi rice, seaweed, sushi mat, avocado, or any other vegetable you prefer.
There is not a strict list of ingredients for sushi tempura. It can be a combination of any ingredients you like, or if there is any roll you prefer to eat but don’t have raw fish, you can always put shrimp tempura inside and make rolls with that.
The most popular type of these rolls is called Shrimp Tempura Roll, and here are the ingredients you will need to make it:
- Tempura batter,
- Three cooked shrimps (or they can be raw),
- Sushi rice,
- Two avocados,
- One Nori sheet (seaweed),
- Spicy mayo.
Different Types of Sushi Tempura Rolls
Over time, many sushi restaurants have created their own combinations of tempura sushi rolls. As you know, sushi rolls can be made with a combination of thousands of different ingredients, so the possibilities are endless. It all depends on the creativity of the chef. Here are the most popular types of tempura sushi rolls:
| Name: | Ingredients: |
| Tiger Roll | Avocado, cucumber, shrimp tempura, tobiko (flying fish roe — fish eggs). |
| Crunch Roll | Crispy seaweed, spicy tuna, tempura crunches. |
| Dynamite Roll | Yellowtail, cucumber, chili, shrimp tempura, bean sprouts, carrots, spicy mayo, avocado. |
| Spider Roll | Soft-shell crab tempura, avocado, cucumber, avocado. |
| Tempura Roll | Any sushi roll that is fried. |
Is Sushi Tempura Good?
Well, if you like fried food, then this is something you should try. Tempura is an excellent way you can use to coat ingredients for fast and easy deep fry. You can use tempura batter to fry almost anything in your kitchen. Also, eating raw fish is not recommended sometimes, for example, when you are pregnant, so tempura rolls can be an excellent substitute if you are craving spicy sushi rolls. In the end, whether this is good is totally up to you, but if you ask us, we would say that there are few things that can top the fresh raw tuna fish gently pressed on perfectly cooked rice, but sushi tempura is in a league of its own, and it is worth trying.