Some perfectly crispy on the outside and super juicy gluten free prawn tempura I made yesterday. With a Chinese sweet and sour dipping sauce. ??
I had been wanting to make these since my โ beer battered fish and chips โ post and they turned out SO good. Theyโre incredibly quick and easy to make and definitely not something us gluten free people need to miss out on! You don’t even need a deep fryer; just a saucepan, some cooking oil and a food thermometer and you’re good to go.
P.S.: I soaked the raw prawns in brine (i.e. very salted water) before cooking which really improves the texture. The prawns absorb more liquid and turn out really tender and juicy. It’s an optional step so you can skip it if you’re in a rush, but I highly recommend it. ?
Gluten Free Prawn Tempura Recipe:
- Raw prawns
- Brine (salted water to soak the prawns)
- Flour (to coat the prawns in)
- Batter
- Vegetable oil
- 50g gluten free self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
- 50g cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 egg
- 115g sparkling water (or gluten free beer)
- 150g pineapple juice
- 4 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 + ½ Tbsp gluten free shaoxing wine
- 1 heaped Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp Chinese five spice
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
FRYING TEMPERATURE: 180-200C
FRYING TIME (per batch): 3 to 4 minutes
Directions
For the gluten free prawn tempura:
- Soak the prawns in brine: add a generous amount of salt into a bowl of water, add the prawns and let them soak for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. You can skip that step, but it does make the prawns so much juicier.
- Prepareย the batter:ย mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, black pepper, baking powder and turmeric) together in a bowl, then add the egg and cold sparkling water and whisk gently (so as to not lose the fizziness) until there are no lumps left.
- Prepare a plate with a bit more self-raising flour on the side (to coat the prawns before dipping them into the batter).
- Batter the prawns: pat the prawns dry with some kitchen towel or cloth, first coat them in flour (it helps the batter stick) and then dip them in the batter until completely covered. Let any excess batter drip off and carefully drop the prawns in your hot oil (pre-heated to 180-200C/356-392F).
- Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until crispy and golden. Then let the freshly fried prawn tempura rest on kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil. Note: cook them in batches / be careful not to overcrowd the pan. And use a timer to make sure you don’t under or over cook them. ?
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For the sweet and sour dipping sauce:
- Add all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low/medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, for a few minutes.
Enjoy!
Hi, I just made the gluten free tempura batter and it was delicious. As suggested I soaked the prawns in brine which made them taste salty fresh. So simple to make and make again.
So glad to hear you enjoyed them! ๐
Hi,
can these be made day before and eaten cold? My mums looking to make me some for Christmas evening buffet as I have recently had to go gluten free but she wont be able to make them day of, do they keep well or do they go stodgy at all do you know?
Thanks for your recipes, they’ve made going gluten free a lot easier.