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Tempura Donburi 天丼
5 from 16 votes

Tempura Donburi 天丼

Tempura Donburi 天丼 is a Japanese rice bowl topped with a variety of tempura-fried ingredients, including prawns, sweet potato, shishito peppers, green beans, shiitake mushrooms, shiso leaves, and lotus root. The tempura batter features a combination of plain flour, icy water, and Japanese mayonnaise for a light, crisp coating. A savory-sweet sauce made with soy sauce, mirin, sugar, shirodashi, and water is drizzled over the finished tempura atop steaming rice.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Servings: 4 bowls
Calories: 637 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

  • 8 prawns
  • 1/2 small purple sweet potato
  • 4 shishito pepper
  • 4 green beans
  • 4 shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 shiso leaves
  • 4 lotus root sliced, aka renkon
  • 3 cups rice or 6 cups of cooked rice, uncooked
Tempura batter
  • 50 g plain flour
  • 75 ml water cold, icy
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise Japanese
sauce
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp shirodashi
  • 2 tbsp water

Instructions

Preparing Prawn
    Cup of Yum
  1. wash the prawns and remove the heads of prawns
  2. remove the legs and shells from the tail end
  3. devein and score 2-3 place on belly side about 1cm apart. 
  4. break the belly muscle so that when they are cooked, the prawn does not curl up
Preparing veggies
  1. wash the purple sweet potato and slice them about 5mm thick.
  2. Wash the shiitake mushrooms and cut off the stems and slice them thinly if necessary. 
  3. Wash the shiso leaves and shishito peppers.
  4. Wash the green beans and cut them in half if they are too long. 
  5. Cut the Chikuwa fish cakes in half.
Making tempura batter and deep frying
  1. Place water and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl
  2. Add flour and mix them all together but try not to stir too much. Creating gluten by overmixing causes oily, sticky, and soggy tempura.
  3. Heat enough oil to deep fry in a frying pan (or tempura pot if you have), to 180 degree celsius(356F)
  4. Dip each ingredient into the batter to coat individually then put them into the heated oil. 
  5. When they are cooked, you can feel little vibrations to your hand when you pick up one with chopsticks.
  6. Take out the cooked ingredients onto a wired mesh rack with kitchen paper to remove and absorb excess oil. 
Making the sauce
  1. place all sauce ingredients into a small sauce pan.
  2. bring them to boil and them simmer for a few minutes
  3. When the sauce is reduced and thickened, turn the heat off and set aside.
Assemble all together
  1. Serve rice in a large rice bowl
  2. place tempura on top of the rice
  3. Pour the sauce over the tempura and rice

Notes

  • Ensure prawns are properly deveined, scored, and flattened to prevent curling while frying.
  • Do not overmix the tempura batter; gentle stirring prevents gluten formation and keeps the coating crisp.
  • Deep-fry tempura at around 180°C (356°F) for best texture and minimal oiliness.
  • Cooking rice time is separate from tempura preparation.
  • Nutrition info cannot precisely reflect frying oil content due to variation in oil uptake.

Nutrition Information

Calories 637kcal (32%) Carbohydrates 132g (44%) Protein 15g (30%) Fat 3g (5%) Cholesterol 31mg (10%) Sodium 943mg (39%) Potassium 265mg (6%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 9g (18%) Vitamin A 55IU (1%) Vitamin C 1.2mg (1%) Calcium 59mg (6%) Iron 2.4mg (13%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 bowls

Amount Per Serving

Calories 637

% Daily Value*

Calories 637kcal 32%
Carbohydrates 132g 44%
Protein 15g 30%
Fat 3g 5%
Cholesterol 31mg 10%
Sodium 943mg 39%
Potassium 265mg 6%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 9g 18%
Vitamin A 55IU 1%
Vitamin C 1.2mg 1%
Calcium 59mg 6%
Iron 2.4mg 13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.