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Tenmusu
Tenmusu (天むす): Nagoya rice balls with a prawn tempura inside, wrapped in nori
JapaneseTenmusu, short for tempura musubi, began in Tsu and became a Nagoya speciality: small salted rice balls with a crisp little prawn tempura poking out of the top, wrapped in nori and sold in boxes at Nagoya Station as a travel lunch. The common mistake is wrapping hot, crunchy tempura straight into the rice, so it steams soft; let it cool on a rack first. Use raw prawns that smell of the sea; throw away any that smell of ammonia. Chef's tip: brush the cooled tempura with a quick sweet soy dip before you shape the rice round it, which is the Nagoya secret to its flavour.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the tempura
- 12 raw king prawnspeeled, deveined, tails left on
- 2 ⅛ oz plain flour
- ½ cup ice-cold sparkling water
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups vegetable oilfor frying
For the rice balls
- 1 ⅓ lb freshly cooked Japanese short-grain ricewarm
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 nori sheetseach cut into 4 strips
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Make 3 shallow cuts across the underside of each of 12 raw king prawns and press flat to stop them curling. Pat dry and dust lightly with 1 tbsp of the 2 ⅛ oz plain flour.
Step 2: Heat 2 ½ cups vegetable oil to 350°F. Whisk 1 egg yolk into ½ cup ice-cold sparkling water, then stir in the rest of the flour with chopsticks; leave it lumpy.
Step 3: Dip the prawns in batter and fry 4 at a time for 2–3 minutes, until crisp, pale gold and the prawns inside are pink and opaque. Drain on a rack and cool.
8 minStep 5: Wet your hands and rub them with a little 1 tsp salt. Take 50 g of 1 ⅓ lb freshly cooked Japanese short-grain rice, flatten it in your palm, set a prawn on top with the tail sticking out, and close the rice around it into a small triangle.
Step 6: Wrap a strip of 3 nori sheets round the base of each ball. Eat the same day; keep cool and pack with an ice pack.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tenmusu take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
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