Crispy Shrimp Tempura Roll

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A beginner's sushi project built around hot, shatter-crisp tempura shrimp instead of raw fish, so there's nothing intimidating in the fridge and nothing to second-guess at the counter. You'll make proper seasoned sushi rice, fry shrimp in a lumpy ice-cold batter that stays crunchy inside the roll, then learn the two moves that make rolling click: wet hands and a firm first tuck. Finished with avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo and a quick sweet soy glaze — the same $17 roll every neighborhood sushi bar sells, for a fraction of the price.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Japanese short-grain sushi rice
• 2 1/4 cups cold water
• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 12 large shrimp (21/25), peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbsp for dusting
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup ice-cold seltzer or club soda
• 4 cups neutral oil for frying (canola or vegetable)

• 4 sheets nori (roasted seaweed), full size
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced thin
• 1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin batons
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• pickled ginger and wasabi, for serving
• soy sauce, for serving

• 1/3 cup Japanese mayonnaise (such as Kewpie)
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice: put the 2 cups rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swish with your hand until the water clouds, and pour off. Repeat 4 to 5 times until the water runs nearly clear, then drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.
2. Cook the rice with 2 1/4 cups cold water in a rice cooker on the white rice setting, or in a covered saucepan: bring to a boil over medium-high, drop to the lowest heat, and cook covered for 15 minutes. Off the heat, leave the lid on and steam 10 more minutes.
3. While the rice cooks, warm the 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in a small saucepan or microwave for 30 seconds, stirring until dissolved. Scrape the hot rice into a wide non-metal bowl or sheet pan, drizzle the vinegar over it, and fold gently with a rice paddle or silicone spatula in slicing motions — never stir or mash. Fan it for a minute, then cover with a damp towel and let it cool to just-warm body temperature, about 30 minutes. Never refrigerate sushi rice.
4. Make the sauces: whisk the mayonnaise, sriracha and sesame oil together and transfer to a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off. In a small saucepan, simmer the 1/4 cup soy sauce, mirin and brown sugar over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes until slightly syrupy and it coats a spoon; cool (it thickens more as it sits).
5. Prep the shrimp: to keep them straight, make 3 shallow crosswise slits along the belly of each shrimp and press gently until they lie flat. Pat very dry with paper towels and toss with 2 tbsp flour in a bowl — this is what makes the batter grip.
6. Heat 4 cups oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven to 350°F (use a thermometer; the oil should be at least 2 inches deep with 3 inches of clearance). Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby.
7. Only when the oil is hot, make the batter: whisk 1/2 cup flour, cornstarch, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then pour in the ice-cold seltzer and stir just 8 to 10 strokes with chopsticks or a fork. It should be thin and lumpy — lumps mean crisp tempura, so do not smooth it out.
8. Fry in two batches of 6: hold each shrimp by the tail end, dip into the batter, let the excess drip for a second, and lay it away from you into the oil. Fry 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, turning once, until pale gold and crackly. Drain on the rack. Keep the oil at 350°F between batches. Let the shrimp cool 5 minutes so they don't steam the nori.
9. Set up to roll: place a bamboo mat on the counter and cover it completely with plastic wrap (this is the beginner shortcut — no rice sticks to the mat). Fill a small bowl with water for your hands. Lay one nori sheet shiny-side down on the mat, long edge toward you.
10. Wet your fingertips, take about 3/4 cup of rice, and pat it over the nori in an even 1/4-inch layer, leaving a bare 1-inch border along the far edge. Press lightly — compacted rice turns gummy. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds.
11. Lay 3 tempura shrimp end to end in a line across the lower third of the rice, add a row of cucumber batons and 2 or 3 avocado slices, and zigzag on spicy mayo. Don't overfill; a fat roll won't close.
12. Roll it: lift the near edge of the mat with your thumbs, fold it up and over the filling, and pull it back toward you so the nori tucks tightly under the filling — this first tuck is the whole trick. Squeeze gently along the length, then continue rolling forward, lifting the mat out of the way as you go. Finish with a firm 5-second squeeze to set the shape. Repeat for the remaining 3 rolls.
13. Slice with a very sharp knife wiped with a damp towel between every cut: halve the roll first, then cut each half into 4 pieces, for 8 pieces per roll. Arrange cut-side up, drizzle with the sweet soy glaze and more spicy mayo, and serve immediately with soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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