Many Western-inspired dishes were born in Japan after the Meiji Restoration which ended its isolationist policy. Ebi furai, tonkatsu and omurice are among these dishes.
Unlike tempura, ebi furai (literally, fried shrimp) is not coated in batter. Rather, you’ll need three things to coat the shrimps with: flour, beaten egg and panko.
Panko is Japanese-style breadcrumbs: flaky rather than grainy and, although more bulky in appearance, lighter in texture than Western-style breadcrumbs.
Ebi Furai (Japanese Panko-coated Deep-fried Shrimp)
Salted shrimps are lightly dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg and coated with panko before frying. The flour prevents the egg from slipping off while the egg makes the panko stick to the srhimps. So, yes, you need to coat the shrimps in all three to make ebi furai.
Ingredients
- 500 grams shrimps medium to large
- salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) you may need more
- cooking oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Shell and devein the shrimps. Pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Place the flour, egg and panko in three separate shallow bowls. Beat the egg.
- Holding the shrimp by the tail, dredge each in flour; shake off the excess. Repeat with the rest of the shrimps.
- Dip the floured shrimps one by one in beaten egg.
- Roll the shrimps one by one in panko to coat every inch of the surface.
- Heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
- Cooking in batches of four to six, drop the breaded shrimps in the hot oil and cook until the coating is golden and crisp, about two minutes. Scoop out and drain.
- Serve the ebi furai with tartar sauce (traditional), sweet chili sauce (not traditional but excellent) or tempura sauce (great choice as well).
