Ebi Fry (Japanese Fried Shrimp)

1. Gather all the ingredients.

To Make the Tartar Sauce

1. Let’s make the Tartar Sauce first. We start with boiling eggs. I learned this method at Home Economics in elementary school and still practice till now. Put water in a saucepan, and gently add 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell). Make sure the eggs are completely covered by water. Bring the water to boil on medium heat. Meanwhile you rotate the eggs with chopsticks or a spoon once in a while (this is a tip to make sure the egg yolk will be in center). Once the water boils, lower heat but keep the water boiling (but don’t let the eggs jumping around) for the next 12 minutes. Discard the water and run under cold water. When eggs are almost cool, they are ready to peel.
2. Meanwhile, dice ¼ onion finely and soak the onion in cold water for 10 minutes to get rid of the bitter flavor.
3. Finely chop 1 pickle.
4. Drain the onion after 10 minutes. Put it the center of paper towel and squeeze the excess water out.
5. In a bowl, break the eggs into small pieces with a fork.
6. Add the pickles, the onion, Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and squeeze some juice from ½ lemon. Then, add 4 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (and chopped parsley) and mix all together. Cover and keep it in the fridge until the Ebi Fry is ready.

To Make the Ebi Fry

1. Ebi Fry’s prawns are very straight. You can follow my directions to make straight shrimp.
2. Season 1 lb prawn with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Dredge the prawns with ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), and then 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell), beaten. (I do not dilute the egg mixture, but you can do so with 1 Tbsp of water or milk.) Next, you usually go to panko, but for Ebi Fry, you double dredge with flour and egg. So after the egg, you go back to the flour and then the beaten egg a second time. Finally, coat in 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). Don’t forget to shake off the excess.
4. Heat 4 cups neutral oil to 350ºF (180ºC). If you‘re new to deep-frying, here‘s my tip on how to deep-fry.
5. Gently put 2–3 prawns in oil and deep fry them for about 2½ minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the Ebi Fry onto a wire rack or paper towel-lined tray to remove the excess oil.
6. Between batches, make sure to scoop up the bread crumbs to keep the oil clean. These burnt crumbs make the oil dark.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days and in the freezer for a month.