Easy Sockeye Salmon Tempura
August 17th, 2022A Quick and Playful Japanese-Inspired Feast
Knowing how to make an easy Sockeye Salmon Tempura can transform a simple weeknight meal into a fun Japanese-inspired feast. We suggest you make this recipe using Sockeye Salmon Strips from Wild Alaskan Company, as they’re already thinly-sliced and ready to dip into tempura batter. However, if you own a sharp kitchen knife, you can slice any sockeye salmon fillet into ¼-inch pieces to use in this recipe.
Enjoy salmon tempura on its own, alongside vegetable tempura, or tucked into homemade sushi rolls.
Easy Sockeye Salmon Tempura
By Wild Alaskan Company
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes
Yield
2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (6-ounce) pack Sockeye Salmon Strips
- Frying oil
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dredging
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup seltzer or club soda, chilled
- A couple ice cubes
- Assorted vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms), cut into thin strips, optional
- Soy sauce or lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
1. Fill a medium saucepan or deep-sided skillet with at least 2 inches of frying oil. Bring the oil up to 350F, usually over medium heat.
2. While the oil is heating up, pat the Sockeye Salmon Strips dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, then dredge with flour.
3. When you are just ready to fry the salmon, measure out flour, cornstarch, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine seltzer, egg yolk, and ice cubes. Using a set of chopsticks, combine seltzer-egg yolk mixture with flour, barely bringing together the flour with the batter. Do not overmix: The batter is perfect when it is lumpy, with pockets of flour. The consistency should resemble heavy cream.
4. Gently dip a piece of salmon into the batter to coat, then add to the hot oil. Repeat with a few more pieces without overcrowding, adjusting temperature as needed to keep the oil around 350F. Fry for 2 minutes, or until tempura batter looks pale and crispy, then remove salmon to a wire baking rack to cool. If you have a kitchen spider or small fine-mesh sieve, use it to fish out floating bits of tempura batter to prevent burning.
5. Continue battering and frying salmon a few pieces at a time while monitoring oil temperature. If frying vegetables, dredge them lightly in flour then batter and fry as above.
6. Enjoy immediately, with soy sauce and lemon on the side.
Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have a certain medical condition. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish.
