Tenmusu 天むす

Name: Tenmusu 天むす
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8 serving
Ingredients: 2 cups rice; 2 seaweed sheets; 1 tsp salt; 8 prawns; cooking oil; 50 g plain flour; 15 g tsuyu; 10 g mayonnaise; 50 g water

User Reviews

5

10 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings
8
Calories
206 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Japanese

Tenmusu 天むす

Katherine Wallace

Report

Tenmusu is a Japanese rice ball filled with crispy fried prawn tempura and wrapped in a strip of seaweed. The recipe includes cooking Japanese-style rice, preparing a light tempura batter with flour, tsuyu, Japanese mayonnaise, and ice-cold water, followed by deep-frying prawns. The prawn tempura is then encased inside a triangular rice ball molded using cling wrap, and finished by wrapping each with grilled seaweed. This snack combines warm, tender rice with crunchy prawn for an enjoyable textural contrast.

Description

To make Tenmusu, sushi-style rice is cooked and allowed to cool slightly before shaping. The prawns are peeled, deveined, and coated in a tempura batter made from plain flour, tsuyu seasoning, Japanese mayonnaise, and ice-cold water, which provides a light, flavorful, and crispy batter once fried. The prawns are deep-fried at 180°C for a brief period to keep them tender and crispy without overcooking.

Using cling wrap, the rice is portioned into small balls with a well in the center for the fried prawn. The rice is shaped into a neat triangle around the prawn and then wrapped with a strip of lightly grilled nori seaweed, which adds a slight smokiness and holds the shape. The combination of textural contrasts—crispy prawn, sticky rice, and dry seaweed—defines this dish.

Tenmusu can be enjoyed as a portable snack, lunch item, or part of a bento meal. It showcases the simplicity and balance found in Japanese cuisine.

Notes cover substitutions if tsuyu or Japanese mayonnaise are unavailable, as well as measurement and cooking time details. Japanese 1 cup measurements differ slightly from US cups. Careful handling of batter and frying temperature is important for a crisp result.

Share:

I Made This!

1 person made this

Print

125 people printed this

Save this

4 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings

2 cups rice uncooked
2 seaweed sheets
1 tsp salt
8 prawns
cooking oil for frying

Tempura Batter

50 g plain flour
15 g tsuyu 1
10 g mayonnaise Japanese
50 g water ice cold

Add Ingredients to Grocery List

Recommended Tools for this Recipe

Instructions

Keep Screen Awake

Cook the rice according to your rice cooker instructions or cook in a pot. *2
Prepare the prawns by peeling off the shell, removing the tail, and cleaning out the inside.
Put all the batter ingredients into small bowl and stir until it's just mixed and refrigerated until just before deep frying.
Heat some oil to 180c(356F).
Take the batter bowl out of the fridge.
Dip the prawns into the batter then deep fry them all for just a couple of minutes (be careful not to overcook).
Place a sheet of cling wrap into a rice bowl and put some rice (1/8 of the amount of rice) into the bowl.
Make a small well in the centre of the rice and place 1 prawn into the centre.
Fold the cling wrap together and shape the rice into a triangle around the prawn.
Slightly grill the seaweed sheets and cut each sheet into 4 long strips.
Remove the cling wrap and put one seaweed strip around the rice.
Repeat for the remaining rice and prawns.

Notes

If tsuyu sauce is unavailable, substitute with equal parts soy sauce, sake, and mirin.
Use Japanese mayonnaise for authentic flavor; omit if unavailable.
Japanese rice cup is 180 ml; adjust cooking water accordingly if using different measurements.
Do not overcook prawns during frying to maintain crispiness and tenderness.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 206kcal (10%) Carbohydrates 41g (14%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 1g (2%) Cholesterol 15mg (5%) Sodium 347mg (14%) Potassium 64mg (1%) Vitamin C 0.2mg (0%) Calcium 22mg (2%) Iron 0.8mg (4%)