Make this super crispy Chicken Tempura or Japanese-style crispy fried chicken at home in under 15 minutes from scratch. Serve it with a dipping sauce for the most delicious appetizer.
If you are looking for more chicken starters, you can try these for party appetizers – General Tso’s Chicken, Hunan Chicken, Best Indo Chinese Chilli Chicken, Chicken Cheese Balls, and Best Chicken Momos.
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About Chicken Tempura
Chicken Tempura (Toriten) is Japanese-style crispy fried chicken.
Boneless chicken breast or thighs are cut into thin strips, marinated with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, and then coated with watery tempura batter. These stripes are then deep-fried until crisp outside and juicy and soft on the inside.
Chicken Tempura is one of the most popular dishes in the Kyushu region in Japan. Not only In Japan, but due to its easy process and incredibly delicious taste, tempura battered chicken is getting popular worldwide. You will find this appetizer on the menu of many restaurants worldwide.
Super easy to make at home, tempura chicken fingers make for a great party appetizer and are traditionally served with karashi mustard ponzu sauce. You can also serve them along with other spicy or creamy sauces.
This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
Ingredients
Chicken – Use boneless chicken breasts or thighs.
For Marination – Chicken is marinated to make it flavorful and juicy. You will need minced ginger and garlic, dark soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
For Tempura Batter
Although tempura batter is readily available, making it home from scratch is very economical, and you know what’s going into it.
For the upper crispy and fluffy layer of the chicken tempura, you will need a mixture of egg yolks, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and ice-cold water.
Ice cold water gives a fluffy and light batter, which is a must in this recipe.
Oil – You can use any vegetable oil to deep fry.
How To Make Chicken Tempura
Prepare The Chicken
Pound 2 boneless chicken breasts using a meat pounder until they are equal in thickness.
Cut the pounded chicken breasts into thin strips using a sharp serrated knife.
Mix the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, salt & pepper to taste, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium-size mixing bowl and keep aside.
Make The Tempura Batter
To make the tempura batter, add 2 egg yolks, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornstarch, and 2 cups of ice-cold water in a bowl. Using two chopsticks, mix and make a thin batter. Make sure to not over-mix the batter. A few lumps are fine.
Note – The reason to use chopsticks to mix the batter is to avoid over mixing it.
Take out ¼ cup of batter in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoon more water to it and mix well. Keep this thinned-out batter aside.
Fry Chicken Tempura
Heat oil for frying in a pan. Use any neutral oil for frying.
Transfer ½ cup all-purpose flour in a shallow plate. Once the oil is very hot, dredge the chicken strips with the flour, then dip in tempura batter and leave the strips in hot oil.
Repeat the process with 4-5 stripes. Once the chicken is lightly browned, sprinkle some thinned-out batter in the pan around the strips using your fingers. This thinned-out batter will stick around the chicken and will make a mesh-like texture around the strips making them super crispy. It will also keep them crispy for a long time.
Fry the chicken strips until they are browned and crisp. Drain them on a tissue-lined plate. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken. Serve chicken tempura hot with a dipping sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both tempura and katsu are popular fried dishes that are extremely popular in Japan. Katsu is like a cutlet, where the main ingredient is meat which can be either chicken, beef or pork, But tempura is prepared using chicken or shrimp.
While the crispiness on the katsu comes from the breadcrumbs, the crispiness on the tempura comes from a batter that is prepared with a mixture of egg yolks, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, and ice-cold water.
Pro Tips by Neha
Some people use cake flour and potato starch in place of all-purpose flour and cornstarch to make the batter. Potato starch absorbs less moisture, so it keeps the tempura crispy for a longer time. Cake flour has less gluten which also makes it crispy.
Do not over mix the batter. This is a very very important step to get crispy tempura.
The chilled batter is very important. Use ice-cold water to make the batter. Do not make the batter and keep it. Use it immediately.
You can use veggies, fish, shrimp in place of chicken.
Replace some of the water with club soda, light beer or ginger ale. It will also help to make crispier tempura.
Serving Suggestions
Traditionally, chicken tempura is served with Karashi mustard ponzu sauce that is also called Japanese mustard dipping sauce. This sauce is a simple combination of soy sauce, sake, dijon mustard, and hot pepper sauce.
You can also serve it with Yum Yum Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Boom Boom Sauce, or Bang Bang Sauce.
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Recipe Card
Chicken Tempura Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- vegetable oil (as required, for frying)
For tempura batter:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups ice-cold water (plus 2 tbsp)
Instructions
- Pound 2 boneless chicken breasts using a meat pounder until they are equal in thickness.
- Cut the pounded chicken breasts into thin strips using a sharp serrated knife.
- Mix the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, salt & pepper to taste, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium-size mixing bowl and keep aside.
- To make the tempura batter, add 2 egg yolks, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornstarch, and 2 and ½ cups of ice-cold water in a bowl. Using two chopsticks, mix and make a thin batter. Make sure to not over-mix the batter. A few lumps are fine.
- Note – The reason to use chopsticks to mix the batter is to avoid over mixing it.
- Take out ¼ cup of batter in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoon more water to it and mix well. Keep this thinned-out batter aside.
- Heat oil for frying in a pan. Use any neutral oil for frying.
- Transfer ½ cup all-purpose flour in a shallow plate. Once the oil is very hot, dredge the chicken strips with the flour, then dip in tempura batter and leave the strips in hot oil.
- Repeat the process with 4-5 stripes. Once the chicken is lightly browned, sprinkle some thinned-out batter in the pan around the strips using your fingers. This thinned-out batter will stick around the chicken and will make a mesh-like texture around the strips making them super crispy. It will also keep them crispy for a long time.
- Fry the chicken strips until they are browned and crisp. Drain them on a tissue-lined plate. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken. Serve hot with a dipping sauce.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!