Tempura Sushi – Crunchy Roll with Ebi Tempura

Sushi bars mean two things by tempura sushi. Most often it is an inside-out roll with fried shrimp at the core, topped outside with crispy tempura crumbs, spicy mayonnaise and sweet soy glaze. Some places also dip the whole roll in batter and fry it. This recipe shows the crunchy roll, and the fried variation is in the notes.

By Laura Chen · November 4, 2026

30 Mintotal

4servings

650kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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Cook the rice following our recipe for sushi rice and let it cool to body temperature. Fry the shrimp as for ebi tempura. Drizzle the leftover batter into the hot oil, and it becomes the crumbs for the outside. Roll only once the shrimp have cooled, or the rice turns smeary.

How rolling with the rice outside works is shown in the guide to uramaki. If shrimp are left over, lay them with soy glaze on rice as tendon.

Image: AI-generated.

Tempura Sushi – Crunchy Roll with Ebi Tempura

Name: Tempura Sushi – Crunchy Roll with Ebi Tempura
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300 g sushi rice; 360 ml water; 45 ml rice vinegar; 15 g sugar; 5 g salt; 8 raw jumbo shrimp (about 200 g unpeeled), peeled and deveined; 50 g all-purpose flour; 10 g cornstarch; 90 ml ice-cold sparkling water; 750 ml vegetable oil for frying; 2 nori sheets, halved crosswise; 1 ripe avocado, in strips; 1/2 salad cucumber, seeded and in sticks; 2 tbsp white sesame seeds; 4 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise; 1 tsp sriracha; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 3 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine); 1 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp pickled ginger (gari); 1 tsp wasabi paste

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

30 minutes

Calories

650

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

300 g sushi rice
360 ml water
45 ml rice vinegar
15 g sugar
5 g salt

For the tempura shrimp:

8 raw jumbo shrimp (about 200 g unpeeled), peeled and deveined
50 g all-purpose flour
10 g cornstarch
90 ml ice-cold sparkling water
750 ml vegetable oil for frying

For the rolls:

2 nori sheets, halved crosswise
1 ripe avocado, in strips
1/2 salad cucumber, seeded and in sticks
2 tbsp white sesame seeds

For the mayo and glaze:

4 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
1 tsp sriracha
3 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp sugar

To serve:

2 tbsp pickled ginger (gari)
1 tsp wasabi paste

Instructions

Cook the sushi rice with the water, fold in the rice vinegar, sugar and salt and let it cool covered to body temperature.
Boil the soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a small pot for 3 to 4 minutes, until the glaze is syrupy. Stir the mayonnaise and sriracha together.
Score the shrimp three times on the belly side and press them straight. Heat the oil to 175 °C (350 °F). Stir the flour, starch and sparkling water together with chopsticks only briefly, and lumps may remain.
Pull the shrimp through the batter and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes, until light gold and no longer translucent inside. Let them cool on paper towel.
Drizzle the remaining batter into the oil with a spoon and fry the drops for 1 minute, until golden yellow. Fish the crumbs out with a skimmer and let them drain.
Wrap the bamboo mat in plastic wrap. Lay half a nori sheet on it and spread a quarter of the rice evenly over it with wet hands. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and flip the sheet so the rice is on the bottom.
Lay 2 shrimp, avocado and cucumber in the lower third. Roll up tightly with the mat and press the roll into shape. Make all four rolls this way.
Roll each roll in the tempura crumbs. Cut it into 8 pieces with a wet, sharp knife.
Drizzle stripes of spicy mayo and glaze over the pieces and serve them with gari and wasabi.

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Tempura Sushi – Crunchy Roll with Ebi Tempura

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

For the tempura shrimp:

For the rolls:

For the mayo and glaze:

To serve:

Instructions

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Tempura Sushi – Crunchy Roll with Ebi Tempura

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

For the tempura shrimp:

For the rolls:

For the mayo and glaze:

To serve:

Instructions

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