The children love shrimp, especially when it’s coated with crispy panko and deep-fried! Ebi Fry, or we call it Ebi Furai (エビフライ, 海老フライ), is a classic western style Japanese dish and a popular menu for Okosama Set (Children’s Meal) at family restaurants.
What is Ebi Fry?
Ebi Fry is a Japanese fried shrimp made with succulent shrimp coated with Panko breadcrumbs and fried till golden brown. The preparation is similar to Tonkatsu and Korokke. Ebi Fry is one of the most popular Yoshoku dishes. Yōshoku refers to a Japanese-style western dish, which originated during the Meiji Restoration between 1868 and early 1900. Besides Ebi Fry, popular yoshoku dishes include:
Curry Rice (Karē Raisu カレーライス) Japanese Hamburger Steak (Hambāgu ハンバーグ) Spaghetti Meat Sauce (ミートソーススパゲッティー) Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet トンカツ) or Chicken Katsu (Chicken Cutlet チキンカツ) Korokke (Croquette コロッケ) Omurice (Japanese Omelette Rice オムライス), and more!
As you can see from their names, these “new” Japanese western-style dishes are written in katakana.
How to Make Ebi Fry (Fried Shrimp)
This dish is very easy to make. The main ingredient is large prawns, breaded with flour, egg, and Panko breadcrumbs before being deep frying. Panko (パン粉) is a Japanese-style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for deep-fried foods such as Tonkatsu and Korokke. Panko does not include crust of bread and it’s more coarsely ground than a standard breadcrumb. Although it’s deep-fried, the crispy Panko coating is very light because the larger flakes don’t absorb as much grease. These airy flakes give a nice crunchy texture to deep-fried food, and it’s quite addicting. Panko has become more popular as part of Western dishes and nowadays you can find it in the Asian food section of most grocery stores.
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Ebi Fry is usually served with tartar sauce or Tonkatsu sauce. I personally prefer Tonkatsu sauce, but today I also made homemade tartar sauce in case you prefer over Tonkatsu sauce.
Freeze Extra Ebi Fry for Another Day!
I usually make a lot of Ebi Fry at once and freeze them once they are deep-fried and let cool. I love making Ebi Fry Sandwich with soft dinner rolls (We call them Butter Roll (バターロール) from a Japanese bakery. They are so delicious with fried shrimp! It is also a very common menu item in bento (Japanese lunch box) and my son almost always selects an Ebi Fry Bento at bento stores when we travel in Japan. He doesn’t look what else is in the bento; he just wants that fried shrimp.
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Other Delicious Shrimp Recipes:
Coconut Shrimp Mom’s Shrimp Ball
