Skip the takeout and learn how to make a delicious homemade Shrimp Tempura Roll! Flavorful sushi rice is wrapped up with crispy fried shrimp, creamy avocado, and fresh cucumber inside nori sheets. Enjoy with yum yum sauce or spicy mayo for sushi night in the comfort of your own home!
This homemade Shrimp Tempura Roll is the perfect recipe for anyone who loves to go out for sushi but isn’t crazy about the restaurant price! Sushi is a crowd favorite, but ordering it out can get expensive. With this easy shrimp tempura roll recipe you can have sushi at home that’s just as delicious as something you’d find in a sushi restaurant.
Tender shrimp is coated in a breading and fried to perfection. Then, it gets rolled up in nori paper with sushi rice, cucumber and avocado. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce! This is such a fun dish for date night or even a weekend lunch.
Why you should make this recipe
- So tasty: The crispy shrimp combined with sticky rice, fresh cucumber and creamy avocado is so delicious! These rolls are a must try!
- Budget friendly: Making sushi at home is so much cheaper than enjoying it out or buying it from the store already made.
- Versatile: We love this recipe as-is, but there are a variety of ingredients you can add to your roll to make it your own.
Ingredients needed
- Shrimp: Jumbo shrimp work best because two will fit nicely in the roll.
- Breading: To make a light crispy tempura batter you’ll need a bowl with cornstarch and a second bowl with a mixture of egg, flour, water, and salt. Dredge the shrimp into each bowl for maximum crispiness.
- Sushi rice: Use short grain rice for this recipe. Mix it with rice vinegar, sugar and salt for extra flavor.
- Nori sheets: For rolling up the ingredients into rolls. You should be able to find these at your local grocery store. However, you can most certainly find them on Amazon.
- Filling: Cucumber and avocado provide freshness and balance the fried shrimp and rice.
How to make this recipe
Making sushi rolls at home may seem a bit intimidating but it’s really quite easy! And don’t worry if your rolls don’t look perfect, they’ll still taste fabulous! Here’s the simple process,
- Prep the shrimp: Wash the shrimp and pat them dry. Make a small slit on the back of each shrimp to prevent them from curling up while frying.
- Mix the batter: In the first bowl, place the cornstarch. In the second bowl, whisk the egg with water and add flour and salt to create the batter. Set the bowls aside.
- Dredge the shrimp: Coat each shrimp with cornstarch first, then dip them into the batter, ensuring they are fully coated.
- Fry the shrimp: Deep fry the shrimp in hot oil until they turn golden and crispy. Once fried, set the shrimp aside.
- Prepare the rice: Prepare the sushi rice according to the package instructions. Once cooked, transfer the rice to a bowl. Add rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to the cooked rice. Mix well to incorporate the seasonings into the rice.
- Assemble the sushi: Place a cling wrap over a sushi mat to prevent sticking. Lay a sheet of Nori on top of the cling wrap. Dip your hands in water to prevent sticking, then spread the sushi rice evenly over the Nori sheet. Flip the Nori sheet to the other side so that the rice is facing down, and arrange the shrimp, cucumber slices, and avocado along the length of the Nori sheet.
- Roll the sushi: Using the sushi mat, tightly roll the Nori sheet and fillings into a compact sushi roll. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice the sushi: Using a sharp knife, cut the sushi roll into 6-8 bite-sized pieces.
- Serve: Sprinkle chopped green onions on top of the sushi rolls for garnish. Serve the shrimp sushi rolls and enjoy!
Expert tips
- Sushi mat: You will need a sushi mat to assemble tight sushi rolls. They are very inexpensive from Amazon and I’ve also seen them at Target and World Market.
- Slicing ingredients: So that the cucumber and avocado fit in the center of the roll, it’s a good idea to slice them thinly.
- Cleanup tip: Be sure to lay plastic wrap over the rolling mat before laying down the nori sheet for easier cleanup.
- Wet your hands: The sushi rice is very sticky, so we recommend wetting your hands before spreading the rice over the nori.
Variations
Here are some easy way to customize this recipe, if you’d like to change it up.
- Cream cheese: Cut strips from a block of cream cheese to add in the center of the roll along with the avocado and cucumber.
- More veggies: Aside from the cucumber, feel free to add thinly sliced pieces of carrot, bell pepper, radish, and/or mango.
- Protein: If you’re not a fan of shrimp, add some more veggies and make these vegetarian sushi rolls. You can also replace the shrimp with white fish, smoked salmon or even tofu.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shrimp tempura roll made of?
This shrimp tempura roll is made with crispy fried shrimp, cucumber and avocado slices, seasoned sushi rice, and nori sheets. They are simple, yet so tasty!
Is shrimp tempura roll cooked?
Yes, shrimp tempura sushi rolls are not raw sushi. The shrimp is battered and fried until crispy and delicious. Because these rolls contain no raw fish, they are popular for sushi beginners to try.
Serving suggestions
Sushi is commonly served with wasabi, soy sauce, spicy mayo, and pickled ginger. It’s also great paired with seaweed salad and/or miso soup for a complete meal!
Storage recommendations
For crispy shrimp, we recommend serving this immediately. However, it will keep fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for about 1-2 days. We do not recommend freezing sushi rolls.
More shrimp recipes
Shrimp Tempura Roll
Ingredients
For Shrimp
- 6-8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 egg
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- oil, for frying
For Roll
- 1 cup sushi rice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Nori sheets
- ¼ cup English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 medium avocados, sliced
- 2 tablespoons greens onions, to garnish
Instructions
- Wash the shrimp and pat them dry. Make a small slit on the back of each shrimp to prevent them from curling up while frying.
- In the first bowl, place the cornstarch. In the second bowl, whisk the egg with water and add flour and salt to create the batter. Set the bowls aside.
- Coat each shrimp with cornstarch first, then dip them into the batter, ensuring they are fully coated.
- Deep fry the shrimp in hot oil until they turn golden and crispy. Once fried, set the shrimp aside.
- Prepare the sushi rice according to the package instructions. Once cooked, transfer the rice to a bowl.
- Add rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to the cooked rice. Mix well to incorporate the seasonings into the rice.
- Place a cling wrap over a sushi mat to prevent sticking.
- Lay a sheet of Nori on top of the cling wrap.
- Dip your hands in water to prevent sticking, then spread the sushi rice evenly over the Nori sheet.
- Flip the Nori sheet to the other side so that the rice is facing down, and arrange the shrimp, cucumber slices, and avocado along the length of the Nori sheet.
- Using the sushi mat, tightly roll the Nori sheet and fillings into a compact sushi roll. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the sushi roll into 6-8 bite-sized pieces.
- Sprinkle chopped green onions on top of the sushi rolls for garnish.
- Serve the shrimp sushi rolls and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
