Light & Crispy Japanese Chicken Tempura (25 Minutes)
on Nov 10, 2023, Updated Nov 19, 2023
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Chicken Tempura is one of the most beloved dishes in Japan. These chicken tenders are light and crispy on the outside, with a juicy and tender interior. It’s easy to make and takes only 25 minutes! Enjoy them as an appetizer or serve with rice and your favorite dipping sauce for a quick dinner!
If you’ve ever been to a Japanese restaurant
Chances are you’ve had these chicken tenders that are light and airy with a delicate crunch!
Tempura is a Japanese method of frying where food is coated in a special batter and deep-fried until golden brown. For Chicken Tempura, skinless, boneless chicken breast is most often used. Also known as Toriten, these light and crispy fried chicken strips are popular street food in Southern Japan.
If you never tried chicken tempura, it’s lighter with a more delicate texture compared to deep fried chicken fingers
The chicken strips are dipped in a special batter and deep fried until the exterior is crispy, with juicy, tender chicken inside.
The chicken is full of flavor, thanks to a blend of ginger, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Chicken tempura has a lighter texture than regular fried chicken with a slight umami flavor.
Chicken Tempura is known for its light, airy, crispy texture. The secret is an ICE-COLD batter!
Tempura batter helps to create the puffy, light-as-air texture that we all know and love. Compare this to deep-fried chicken where a dredge creates a heavier, more dense coating. Here is what you’ll need:
- Ice-cold water: It keeps the batter cold and prevents the development of gluten and ensuring a light and crispy texture.
- Beaten egg: It adds a nice golden color and a subtle richness in flavor once fried.
- Cake flour has a lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour. It’s a key ingredient in tempura batter, which creates the signature airy texture
- Cornstarch further contributes to the lightness and crispiness of the tempura.
- Baking soda creates bubbles in the batter and ensures that there is no discoloration in the batter.
The flavor of chicken is savory with a mild taste, you’ll need:
- Boneless chicken breast: Pound the chicken and cut it into bite-sized strips.
- Soy sauce creates a umami and savory flavor.
- Garlic adds a nice aromatic layer of flavor to the chicken. You can substitute garlic powder.
- Ginger: Its slightly spicy and citrusy notes complement the savory and mild taste of the chicken. You can substitute ginger powder.
- Salt and pepper help to create a well-balanced savory taste.
How to Make Chicken Tempura
1. Pound the chicken so it’s flatter before cutting into thin strips so they can cook more evenly.
2. Add chicken strips to a large bowl. Then season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.
3. Mix the chicken and spices well and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, sift cake flour, baking soda, and cornstarch.
5. Add the beaten egg.
6. Gradually add ICE-COLD water and mix until everything is combined. (Make sure not to over mix the batter.)
7. Add the seasoned chicken strips to the batter and coat well.
8. Add a few pieces of battered chicken at a time into cooking oil that is heated to 350°F. Fry for about 4 minutes total until crispy and golden brown (flipping half way through). Remove with a slotted spoon and place the chicken onto a plate lined with paper towel. Serve hot with ketchup or a sauce of your choice.
It cooks quickly!
Because of how thin they are, these chicken strips cook fairly quickly. In about ONLY 4 minutes, each batch of chicken tempura strips should be golden brown, crispy and ready to be taken out of the oil.
There are so many ways to enjoy chicken tempura!
Chicken tempura is a delicious and versatile dish. As a snack, it can be enjoyed on its own with your favorite dipping sauce or a traditional Japanese ponzu sauce.
These crisp strips can be used to make chicken tempura sushi rolls or can be added to bento boxes for a fun and interesting lunch or dinner.
Here are more amazing quick Japanese dinner ideas
Chicken Tempura Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken and Seasoning
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Tempura Batter
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup ice-cold water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breast: Use a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken so that its thinner and flatter. This allows the chicken to cook more evenly.
- Cut the chicken into thin strips.
- Season the chicken: Add chicken strips to a large bowl. Then season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Mix well.
- Make the tempura batter: In a large bowl, sift cake flour, baking soda and cornstarch. Then add the beaten egg. Gradually add water and mix until everything is combined. (Make sure not to over-mix the batter.)
- Coat the chicken: Add the seasoned chicken strips to the batter and coat well.
- Heat the oil: Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or Dutch oven.
- Fry the chicken: Add a few pieces of the battered chicken at a time. Fry for about 4 minutes total until crispy and golden brown (flipping half way through). Remove with a slotted spoon and place the chicken onto a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the chicken strips. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
I just made these with chicken tenders. Didn’t think I needed to pound them out but in hindsight I should of. However, the batter was very thick and they turned into puff balls and not crispy. I will probably try again but will thin out the batter just a bit to see if that helps.
I made this and we dipped the chicken in sweet and sour sauce. My family enjoyed them. I made fried rice with them and the meal was so good. Easy recipe.
When does the baking soda get added? It’s not mentioned except in the list of ingredients.
Thanks for sharing .. I liked the he flavour of the coating . Mine turned out more brownish though not as seen like yours.. wonder if I fried it longer ., needed to make sure the chicken was cooked inside
What is cup cake flour, I’ve always used ordinary flour for cakes.
Cake flour (Swan’s Down brand in a box) is different than all purpose flour. It is lighter in texture when baked or cooked. You can google a recipe to make your own cake flour if you don’t want to buy the box at the grocery store).
I made this and used a teriyaki sauce poured over the chicken and a side of white rice. Truly amazing! Definitely making it again!
This is sort of off-topic. Would this tempura batter work for onion rings? The chicken looks so good with it!
Perfect!!
Just curious, in the tempura ingredient section, it mentions baking soda but it is never mentioned in the recipe itself. Does it get added in the dry ingredients or after adding the water?
Yes, add the baking soda to the other dry ingredients. Sorry for missing that, we’ve added that to the recipe. Thanks