Crunchy Fried Shrimp

Name: Crunchy Fried Shrimp (Ebi Furai)
Yield: Serves 4 as a main course, 6-8 as an appetizer
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: tonkatsu sōsu (a thick, dark, spicy sauce), optional; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; 2 dozen large shrimp, with shells and tails intact; corn, soy, or other vegetable oil for deep-frying; corn, soy, or other vegetable oil for deep-frying; few drops goma abura (aromatic sesame oil), optional; corn, soy, or other vegetable oil for deep-frying; 1 large egg; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1½ cups panko (Japanese coarse bread crumbs); 2 tablespoons cold water

Ebi Furai

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a main course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

An Ocean of Flavor

By Elizabeth Andoh

Published 1988

About

This is unquestionably one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Its fans range from the nursery-school set—for whom these breaded fried shrimp are a favorite lunch-box treat—to full-fledged grown-ups, who never seem to tire of eating the crunchy crustaceans at home and in restaurants.

Ingredients

2 dozen large shrimp, with shells and tails intact
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon<

Asia
Japan
Fish course
Lunch
Starter
Pescatarian

Method

Remove the shells from the shrimp, keeping the last segment and tail intact. Make a shallow slit down the curved back of each shrimp and remove the vein. Flip the shrimp over and make two or three shallow diagonal slits across the underbelly. Gently press on these slits to straighten out the shrimp and keep them from curling further when fried. Rinse the shrimp quickly u