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Shrimp Tempura with Dipping Sauce

Shrimp Tempura with Dipping Sauce reads umami 6.5, salinity 5.7 and richness 4.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Japanese main, about 13 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 1.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.0 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.0 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 1.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.5 · Salinity 5.7 · Richness 4.7 · Marine & Briny 3.8 · Sweetness 3.1 · Funk & Ferment 2.9 · Sourness 1.3 · Herbaceous 1.2 · Earthy 0.9 · Nutty 0.9 · Bitterness 0.8

What's in it (12)

• shrimp — 454 g
• cornstarch — 59 g
• low-salt chicken broth — 118 g
• soy sauce — 30 g
• mirin — 30 g
• egg — 100 g
• cold water — 237 g
• all-purpose flour — 121 g
• baking soda — 3 g
• salt — 3 g
• vegetable oil — 1306 g
• daikon radish — 57 g

Time & effort: about 13 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 191.6 kcal, 7.4 g protein, 12.7 g fat, 12.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Pat the shrimp dry, peel and devein, leaving the tails on. Make 3 shallow cuts across the belly of each shrimp and press gently to snap the connective tissue straight — this keeps them from curling into a tight C as they fry.
2. Dust the shrimp lightly in cornstarch, shaking off the excess, and set aside on a plate; the thin dry layer gives the wet batter something to grip.
3. Make the dipping sauce: combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, and mirin in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
4. In a mixing bowl, whisk the cold egg with the ice water until just combined.
5. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the egg mixture and fold with a few strokes until just barely combined — the batter should still be lumpy with visible streaks of flour. Overmixing develops gluten and turns the crust tough instead of crackly.
6. Pour the oil into a heavy, deep pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F.
7. Working in batches of 4 to 5, dip each shrimp by the tail into the batter, letting the excess drip off, and lower gently into the hot oil. Fry until the coating is pale gold and crackly-crisp and the shrimp is opaque and cooked through, 90 seconds to 2 minutes per batch, turning once halfway through.
8. Lift the shrimp with a slotted spoon onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain — skip paper towels, which trap steam and soften the crust. Season lightly with salt while still hot.
9. Serve immediately, with the warm dipping sauce and grated daikon alongside for dunking.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Pad See Ew — Thai
• Oven-Roasted Halibut with Black Olive Tapenade on Roasted Red Peppers (Rape Asado con Tapenada Negra Y Pimientos Morrones) — Spanish
• Shrimp Tempura Donburi — Japanese
• Saba no Shioyaki (Salt-Grilled Mackerel with Grated Daikon) — Japanese
• Pissaladière — French · Provence

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.