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Fried shrimp - or Ebi Furai in Japanese, is juicy shrimp wrapped with a thick breaded crust and fried until crispy. This homemade fried shrimp recipe is so easy to prepare and best served as a side in Japanese bento. This breading is thick, crunchy, and flavorful. Use the best large size shrimp you can find.
Ebi Furai – Japanese Fried Shrimp Recipe
Ebi Furai is one of Japan’s popular fried shrimp recipes that coats fresh shrimp in a flavorful batter that is then pressed into breadcrumbs. Fried until crispy, they are an absolute delight. Enjoy them with a delicious tartar sauce for dipping.
Unlike other Japanese fried shrimp recipes, Shrimp Tempura, Ebi Furai tastes different with a thick and crisp breadcrumb crust. It makes the best bento box with a green salad and hot steamed rice. Serving the fried shrimp with a savory mayonnaise dipping sauce balances out the taste and removes the greasiness from frying. The hot shrimp with a cold sauce is excellent!
To make crispy and incredibly delicious Ebi Furai is easy and only takes 15 minutes from start to finish. Have your oil heated and ready before you begin the breading process.
If you do not prefer deep-fried shrimp, check out my sauteed shrimp recipe!
Ingredients For Fried Shrimp
This easy homemade Ebi Furai recipe makes an irresistible dish with only a few simple ingredients.
- Shrimp or tiger prawn
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Bonito flakes
- Egg
- Milk
- Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- Vegetable oil
Tartar Dipping Sauce
- Hard-boiled egg
- Yellow onion
- Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Japanese Fried Shrimp
First, clean up the shrimp before coating. Peel the shrimp and leave the tails. Devein and rinse the shrimp. Cut a few shallow vertical slits at the bottom of the shrimp to avoid them from curling up when fried. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and set aside.
Next, prepare the batter. Add all-purpose flour, salt, bonito flakes, egg, and milk in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Pour Panko breadcrumbs into a shallow plate and set aside.
Coat the shrimp evenly with the batter by holding the tail to dip into the bowl, and then roll it into the Panko breadcrumbs. Give the shrimp a light press to ensure that the shrimp is entirely covered with the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process for the remaining shrimp.
Fill a deep pot with vegetable oil and heat the oil to 340°F to 360°F (170°C to 182°C).
Deep-fry the shrimp until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Remove from the oil with a strainer and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Prepare the tartar dipping sauce. Cut the hard-boiled egg into small cubes and mix it with chopped onion and Japanese mayonnaise in a bowl. Finally, add salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Cooking Tips
- Adding bonito flakes to the batter is a little trick which makes the fried shrimp more flavorful and tasty.
- Cut a few shallow vertical slits at the bottom of the shrimp to avoid them curling up when fried.
- To make a refreshing dipping sauce, you can also mix minced sweet pickles into the tartar sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fried shrimp is coated with both batter and panko breadcrumbs, creating a crispy crust after frying. On the other hand, shrimp tempura is fried with a thin batter only, which tastes lighter and airy.
Serve the best Ebi Furai with either Tonkatsu sauce or tartar sauce. You can buy the Tonkatsu sauce in a bottle from Japanese grocery stores or make it yourself with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
This recipe has 307 calories in each large fried shrimp.
What To Serve With Fried Shrimp
Serve this dish with other Japanese dishes. For a wholesome Japanese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes:
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Fried Shrimp – Ebi Furai
Ingredients
- 6 shrimp or tiger prawn, shelled, deveined and tail on
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon bonito flakes
- 1 egg, 2oz without shell
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 cups Panko, Japanese breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil , for deep frying
Tartar Dipping Sauce
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise Kewpie
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Devein and rinse the shrimp. Make a few shallow vertical slits on the underside of each shrimp to prevent curling during frying. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, bonito flakes, egg, and milk. Whisk until well combined. Set the batter aside. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.
- Pour the Panko breadcrumbs onto a shallow plate. Hold the shrimp by the tail, dip it into the batter to coat evenly, then roll it in the Panko breadcrumbs. Lightly press the breadcrumbs onto the shrimp to ensure an even coating. Repeat the process for the remaining shrimp.
- Fill a deep pot with vegetable oil and heat it to 340°F to 360°F (170°C to 182°C). Deep-fry the shrimp until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Remove the shrimp with a strainer and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Prepare the dipping sauce by cutting the hard-boiled egg into small cubes and mixing it with chopped onion and Japanese mayonnaise in a bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy the shrimp hot with the cold dipping sauce immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I pretended I required several attempts to get this recipe right, BUT how else could I explain to my boss (aka wife) why I had to make and eat 3 batches of shrimp just to be sure I had the recipe down right.
Still, I think she’s on to me!
These shrimp were fabulous, and so simple to prepare.
I used a Vietnamese dipping sauce, and it really shone
with these shrimp.
Awesome!