Shrimp Tempura Crunch Roll

Shrimp Tempura Crunch Rolls are my go-to order whenever I visit a sushi restaurant - and now you can make it at home for a fraction of the price with this recipe! I love the satisfying crunch of the tempura shrimp, perfectly complemented by the soft, sticky rice and the slight chew of the seaweed. The combination of flavors and textures is irresistible, especially with the drizzle of sweet soy glaze or spicy mayo on top. Each bite is a perfect mix of savory, crispy, and a hint of sweetness, making it my absolute favorite dish to indulge in.

Serving Size: 4 Rolls

Total Cook + Prep Time: 45 minutes (including steaming the rice)

~ Pictures included to help make the process easier ~

Ingredients:

For the Rice

1 cup Japanese short or medium grain rice, 1.5 cups water

2 tablespoons sushi vinegar (to make your own sushi vinegar: 1.5 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt; to make this, dissolve over low heat on the stove)

For the Sushi:

8 shrimp tempura (I use frozen, pre-made shrimp tempura from the frozen aisle in the grocery store. I bought mine at Costco, but you can find at most grocery stores)

1/2 avocado, ripe but still firm

1/4 mango, peeled and sliced into long julienne strips

1/4 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced into long julienned strips

4 full sheets of toasted nori seaweed

Toasted sesame seeds

Sushi rolling mat

Optional Sauces/Toppings:

Soy sauce

Tempura, extra for topping

Wasabi paste

Shirakiku sushi sauce

Spicy mayo

Recipe:

Cook your rice in a rice maker. If you don't have one - you need to get one they're so much easier than cooking on the stove. If you don't have one, cook on the stove.

Once your rice is done cooking, add it into a large bowl and mix in the sushi vinegar. If you're making sushi vinegar from scratch, add in your rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and dissolve over low heat on the stove. Mix in your sushi vinegar while the rice is still hot.

Preheat your oven to 325 and cook the shrimp for 7 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 8 minutes. If you're cooking in the air frier, heat to 390 and cook for 4 minutes, flip, and then cook for another 4 minutes.

Julienne your cucumber, mango slices, and avocado slices.

Add plastic wrap over your sushi rolling mat. This will make it so much easier to clean-up after you roll the sushi.

Place a piece of nori seaweed on the sushi rolling mat. Add a generous amount of cooked rice on top of the seaweed. Spread around evenly with wet fingers, or a bamboo spoon. Flip your seawood over so that the rice side is on the bottom, this will allow the rice to be on the outside of the roll.

Add your cooked shrimp tempura onto your seaweed in the middle, with the tails facing towards the outside, so that you don't eat them in the roll. Add on your cucumber, mango, and avocado.

Use the rolling mat to roll your sushi up, pressing into the roller so that it sticks together.

Once it's rolled, leave it on the roller and top with toasted sesame seeds. Take it off of the sushi rolling mat and chop it into 6 pieces. Serve on a plate and top with any optional toppings you prefer (listed above). Dip into soy sauce and enjoy!