Shrimp tempura rolls have become one of the most popular items at sushi restaurants all across the globe, and for good reason. The light, crispy texture of tempura provides a very satisfying crunch while the contrast of flavors and textures gives it balance. In other words, it just works! This fusion of Japanese cuisine is not only delicious, but because it's fully cooked, it's also the perfect option for sushi beginners and younger kids.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through three different ways to make shrimp tempura rolls, all using the same ingredients but tweaking the procedure and presentation in each. Let’s get started!

❤️Why We Love the Shrimp Tempura Roll

• Wide Appeal - Shrimp tempura rolls are perfect for sushi beginners, kids, or anyone who might shy away from (or can't consume) raw seafood. At the same time it's loved by many veteran sushi eaters, making it one of the ultimate crowd-pleasers.
• Available Ingredients - Unlike some of the raw sushi options, the shrimp tempura roll only needs shrimp and vegetables, which are easily found at almost any grocery store.
• Versatility - There are many different ingredients you can add to a shrimp tempura roll, which makes it extremely versatile and customizable. Not to mention, easier to make at home. Add some jalapenos for a kick, deep fry asparagus for a vegetarian option, or add a layer of fresh tuna to take it to the next level. The possibilities are endless!

Jump to:

• ❤️Why We Love the Shrimp Tempura Roll
• 🍲Ingredients
• 👩‍🍳Preparation
• 🍣Rolling Shrimp Tempura Rolls
• 🔪Cutting and Plating
• 🥑Customize Your Rolls
• 🪄Tips and Tricks
• 🗒Best served with
• ✍️Final Thoughts
• 🤔Common Questions

🍲Ingredients

The foundation of any great sushi is quality ingredients. However, the shrimp tempura roll is very versatile and can easily be modified to your own preference. Feel free to add or swap out any of these ingredients to your liking!

Main Ingredients:

• Sushi rice: 3 cups (600g) (sushi rice tutorial here).
• Nori (dried seaweed): 2 half sheets, 1 full sheet
• Shrimp (size between 16-30)(tail-on): 5
• Cucumber (English or Japanese): 4 inches (10cm)
• Avocado: 1
• Kanikama (imitation crab): 4 sticks
• Asparagus: 2-3
• Tempurako (tempura flour): 1 cup (120g)
• Neutral oil (for deep frying): 4 cups (946ml)
• Sesame oil (for deep frying): 1 tablespoon (15ml)

Toppings and Sauces:

• Spicy mayo: Drizzle to add a bit of kick (my recipe here).
• Unagi sauce: Drizzle to add savoriness and umami (my recipe here).
• Toasted sesame seeds

Optional Condiments:

• Wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce for serving.

👩‍🍳Preparation

Sushi Rice

Very first thing you want to do is make the sushi rice, since that takes the longest. I usually start cooking the rice and then prep all the vegetables and other ingredients while the rice cooks.

Oil

We also want to start heating our oil over medium heat. Try to have about two inches of depth. Drizzle a little bit of sesame oil and heat it up to 340-350°F (170-176°C).

Asparagus

• Cut the bottom end so that it's the same length as a sheet of nori.
• Boil a pan of water and sprinkle a little bit of salt.
• Once water comes to a boil, blanch the asparagus for 2-3 minutes.
• Transfer into an ice bath to fully cool.
• Dry with a paper towel.

Cucumber

• Peel and cut the cucumber with a katsuramuki technique (thin rotational peeling), watch my tutorial here if you want to learn how. Or keep it simple and slice it into half-inch wide sticks, cutting out the inner seed section.

Avocado

• Cut the avocado in half and carefully remove the seed.
• Peel the skin and cut one half into roughly half inch thick slices. These are going inside the rolls.
• The other half will be used to layer on top of the roll.
  • Place the avocado (half) flat onto the cutting board and slice into ⅛ inch thin slices.
  • It's best to do this after the roll is made to help minimize discoloration of the avocado. Tutorial video here.

Shrimp Tempura

If you want to keep this recipe extremely simple, I recommend getting some pre-fried tempura shrimp. They come frozen and are available at many regular grocery stores. To heat them up, simply follow the directions on the packaging.

If you're frying your own shrimp, follow these steps:

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on.
2. Scrape the shrimp tails with the tip of your knife to remove moisture and dirt. This is an IMPORTANT STEP to prevent the tails from exploding in hot oil.
3. On the shrimp’s belly side, make shallow cuts cross-wise along it's length.
4. Gently flatten and straighten the shrimp by laying the belly side onto the cutting board and applying pressure from the top.
5. Make tempura batter by adding ½ cup of tempurako with ½ cup of ice cold water (follow directions on package because every brand is a bit different).
   • If making tempura batter from scratch follow this recipe:
     • All-purpose flour: ½ cup
     • Ice cold water: ½ cup
     • Egg (small): 1
6. Mix the tempura batter with chopsticks (do not use a whisk). Try no to overmix the batter, it's best to keep some of the small clumps in there which gives it a lighter and airy texture.
7. Lightly dust the shrimp with flour, then dip into tempura batter.
8. Fry in oil heated to 340-350°F for about 2–2.5 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
9. Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with paper towel.

🍣Rolling Shrimp Tempura Rolls

Two of the rolls are made as an uramaki (inside-out roll), which has the rice wrapped around on the outside. The third roll is a futomaki ("big roll"), which has the seaweed on the outside, and one we'll be using the full sheet of nori for.

Step 1: Preparing the Makisu

Since some of the rolls have the rice on the exterior, we need to wrap the makisu (bamboo rolling mat) in plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking. You can watch this video here to learn how to do this properly.

Step 2: Preparing the Nori and Rice

⚠️Roll #3 is prepared slightly different (read "Roll #3" section below)

• Place a sheet of nori horizontally with the rough-side-up onto the makisu, leaving about an inch of space between the nori and the bottom of the makisu.
• Dip your hands into a bowl of cold water and spread it around evenly.
• Grab a ball of sushi rice (about the size of an apple) and evenly spread it across the nori, reaching all the way to the edges and corners. Try not to squish the rice and keep it as fluffy as possible.
• Sprinkle a layer of toasted sesame seeds over the rice (optional), then flip the nori so the rice side is down.

Step 3: Adding Fillings

Roll #1: Tatemaki (Vertical Roll)

1. Turn the nori 90 degrees so that it's facing vertically.
2. Add cucumber slices, avocado, one piece of kanikama, and one shrimp tempura evenly across the middle of the nori, from one end to the other.
3. Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
4. Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
5. Apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
6. Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
7. Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.

Roll #2: Avocado Layered on Top

In this variation, we're going to make a standard inside-out roll but add layers of avocado on top, very similar to a caterpillar roll.

1. Add cucumber slices, one piece of kanikama (split in half lengthwise), and two pieces of shrimp tempura. Make sure the tails are facing outwards.
2. Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
3. Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
4. Apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
5. Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
6. Cut half of the avocado into thin slices (as mentioned above under Preparations).
7. Spread it out carefully until it's the same length as the roll.
8. Carefully slide your knife under the spread out avocado slices and place it on top of the roll. Be extra cautious when removing the knife.
9. Gently shape the roll again using the plastic-wrapped makisu.
10. Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.

Roll #3: Futomaki "Big Roll"

Our last roll is going to be a futomaki style, which is a larger roll with the seaweed wrapped around on the outside.

1. Place a full size sheet of nori onto the makisu with the rough side facing up. The nori is not quite a square so lay it portrait mode, meaning vertically with the longer ends on the sides.
2. Start adding sushi rice onto the nori but leave about and inch of space at the top and also a little bit at the bottom. This will help the nori seal better.
3. Now add all the fillings across the middle horizontally from one end to the other: avocado slices, cucumber slices, kanikama, asparagus, and two pieces of shrimp tempura (tails outwards).
4. Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
5. Continue rolling so that the nori overlaps onto itself.
6. Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
7. Use the makisu to apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
8. Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
9. Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.

🔪Cutting and Plating

Cutting the rolls can be one of the trickiest parts of sushi making, and often seen as the most difficult part for beginners. Here are some quick tips to help you not mangle your hard work.

• Use a sharp knife. Learn how to properly sharpen Japanese knives with this tutorial here.
• Keep the plastic wrap on while cutting rolls with toppings (roll #2 for example). Leave the top section of the plastic still intact though so it can easily be removed in one piece.
  • You can skip the plastic wrap for rolls without toppings, but the wrap can help ensure cleaner cuts.
• Cut each roll into 8 pieces, starting by cutting right down the center in half, then each half into halves again, and so on.
• Wet and clean your knife between slices to prevent sticking.

After cutting, it’s time to plate. Arrange the rolls neatly (get creative with it), and drizzle on some spicy mayo and unagi sauce, optional of course. Garnish with wasabi and pickled ginger on the side. Serve with a small dish of soy sauce.

🥑Customize Your Rolls

The best part of making sushi at home is that it's endlessly customizable and you can experiment with whatever you think may go well. So feel free to add your own twist to any of these rolls and come up with your own unique creations. I promise I won't judge! 😉 Here are some of my favorite additions:

• Lettuce to make it more refreshing.
• Fresh jalapeño slices for an extra kick.
• Masago or tobiko for a pop of flavor and texture.
• Tempura asparagus or green onion instead of the shrimp to make it vegetarian friendly.
• Fresh salmon or tuna (or combination of both). Layer it on top of the roll for the best presentation.

🪄Tips and Tricks

• Make sure to wet your hands thoroughly (but not drenched) before touching the sushi rice.
• When flipping the nori and rice, leave about an inch of space from the bottom of the makisu to the bottom of the nori. This leaves just enough space which makes it easier to roll.
• Leave some space at the top and bottom of the nori (no rice) when making the futomaki (Roll #3).
• Tighten the roll after the initial wrapping of the fillings by pulling the upper end of the makisu away from you while holding the roll with the other hand.
• Clean and wet the knife right before cutting.

🗒Best served with

• Miso soup: Always a good pairing with pretty much any type of sushi. The warm and savory soup can act as a nice palate cleanser in between different types of sushi as well. Check out my recipe here.
• Tempura Vegetables: Since you're making the batter and frying the shrimp, might as well make some tempura vegetables while you're at it! Learn how with this video.
• Sake: A chilled junmai or junmai ginjo will be a perfect companion to shrimp tempura rolls. Here's one that I tried very recently that I recommend.
• Japanese Beer: No brainer. Asahi, Sapporo, or Kirin, all goes well with shrimp tempura rolls.

✍️Final Thoughts

Shrimp tempura rolls are a fun, tasty way to enjoy sushi at home. It can be a bit time consuming if you're frying your own shrimp but trust me, it's worth it! Give these recipes a try and don't be afraid to mix and match different ingredients to come up with your own creations. Don't forget to share them with me on social media!

🤔Common Questions