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Tempura Donburi, thewoksoflife.com
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5 from 8 votes

Tempura Donburi (Rice Bowls)

These Tempura Donburi are loaded up with light, crispy shrimp and vegetable tempura. With an authentic dipping sauce and cup of green tea, you might forget you're dining at home!
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 4
Calories: 776kcal
Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

For dipping and serving:

For frying:

  • 1 sweet potato (peeled and sliced into thin rounds)
  • 1-2 medium sweet white onions (sliced into 1/2-inch rounds)
  • 2 small heads of broccoli (torn into small individual florets)
  • 2 cups oyster mushrooms (broken up into individual pieces)
  • 12 large shrimp (peeled and deveined, with the tail on)
  • vegetable oil (or canola/peanut oil, for frying)

For the batter:

  • 1 3/4 cups ice water
  • 1 1/4 cups cake flour
  • 2 egg yolks

Instructions

  • First, prepare the dipping sauce by combining dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin. We used instant dashi, but if you want to make it yourself, we have detailed instructions in our Miso Soup recipe. At this point, you can also cook the rice you’ll serve with the tempura. 
  • Next, prepare the vegetables, making sure everything is washed and trimmed. Nothing should be too wet ahead of frying, so if needed, pat the vegetables with a kitchen towel or let them sit at room temperature to dry off while you prep everything else.
  • Score the shrimp with a sharp knife so that they can lay flat (you can do this lightly if you don’t mind them retaining some of their curved shape). Refrigerate the shrimp until you’re ready to fry.
  • Next, make the batter. Stir together the ice water, cake flour, and egg yolks. No need to get rid of all the lumps—in fact, take care not to overmix it. Pop it in the refrigerator while you heat the frying oil.
  • In a small deep pot, heat enough oil to fill it about halfway, over medium-high heat. While that’s happening, set up a wire rack over a sheet pan or a platter lined with paper towels. When a drop of the batter sizzles vigorously but doesn’t brown too quickly, you’re ready to go.
  • To fry, swirl one piece of vegetable or shrimp in the batter (for the shrimp, hold it by the tail), and lower it gently into the batter. Fry everything in batches of 3-4 items for 45-90 seconds, turning each item 3-4 times. When the vegetables are lightly golden and the shrimp are lightly golden, orange, and floating, it’s ready to be transferred to the wire rack.
  • Adjust the heat as needed between batches as you add cold food to the oil. The oil should be hot enough that it doesn’t take too long to cook the tempura, but not so hot that the food immediately turns golden when it hits the oil.
  • To assemble the tempura donburi bowls, spoon a base of steamed rice into each bowl. Top with with vegetables and a few shrimp per bowl. Serve with the dipping sauce, grated daikon (optional), and perhaps a bowl of miso soup!

Nutrition

Calories: 776kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 629mg | Potassium: 632mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5045IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 5mg