Ebi Fry (エビフライ, 海老フライ), or we call it Ebi Furai, is one of the most popular Yoshoku in Japan. Yōshoku refers to a Japanese-style western dish, which originated during the Meiji Restoration between 1868 and early 1900.
Other popular yoshoku 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 Japanized European dishes feature western names and are usually written in katakana.
As I mentioned earlier, Ebi fry is very popular dish eaten at home and widely available in yoshoku restaurants in Japan. 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 are in the bento, he just want that Ebi Fry.
This dish is very easy to make. The main ingredient is large prawns, breaded with Panko before being deep fried.
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for deep-
Ebi Fry is usually served with tartar sauce or Tonkatsu sauce. I personally prefer Tonkatsu sauce, but today I also made Tartar sauce in case you prefer over Tonkatsu sauce.
Ingredients:
- Large prawns (I used 17 prawns today)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups Panko
- Oil for deep frying
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 onion
- 1 pickle or 7 cornichons/gherkins
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 lemon
- 4 Tbsp. Japanese mayonnaise
- Parsley (optional)
Instructions:
- Let’s make Tartar Sauce first. We start with boiling eggs. I learned this method at Home Economics in elementary school and still practice till now. Put water in a saucepan, and gently put eggs. Make sure the eggs are completely covered by water. Bring the water to boil on medium heat. Meanwhile you rotate the eggs with chopsticks or a spoon once in a while (this is a tip to make sure the egg yolk will be in center). Once the water boils, lower heat but keep the water boiling (but don’t let the eggs jumping around) for the next 12 minutes. Discard the water and run under cold water. When eggs are almost cool, they are ready to peel.
- Meanwhile you dice the onion finely and soak the onion in cold water for 10 minutes to get rid of bitter flavor.
- Finely chop the pickles.
- Drain the onion after 10 minutes. Put it the center of paper towel and squeeze the excess water out.
- In a bowl, break the eggs into small pieces with a fork.
- Add the pickles, the onion, salt and pepper and squeeze some lemon juice. Then add the mayonnaise (and parsley) and mix all together. Cover and keep it in the fridge until Ebi Fry is ready.
- Ebi fry’s prawns are very straight. Here’s how we prepare prawns (click HERE).
- Season the prawn with salt and pepper.
- Dredge the prawns with flour, and then beaten egg (I do not dilute the egg mixture, but you can do so with 1 Tbsp of water or milk). Next you usually go to Panko, but for Ebi Fry, you double dredge with flour and egg. So after the egg, you go back to flour, then egg, and finally panko. Don’t forget to shake off the excess.
- Heat the oil to 350F (180C) degree (Read more on How To Deep Fry).
- Gently put 2-3 prawns in oil and deep fry them for about 2.5 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer Ebi Fry onto a wire rack or paper towel-lined tray to remove excess oil.
- Between batches, make sure to scoop up the bread crumbs to keep the oil clean and avoid the oil turning dark.
Itadakimasu!
I usually make a lot of Ebi Fry. And the next day, I make Ebi Fry Sandwich with the leftover. For Ebi Fry and Korokke Sandwich, I usually buy these super soft dinner rolls (We call them “Butter Roll (バターロール)”) from a Japanese bakery. Hmm… perfect lunch!
Hi, I'm Nami. Thanks for stopping by Just One Cookbook. You can read little bit more about me 
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yummy! my hubs favorite!
Wow…i love shrimp and this looks totally amazing…The tartar sauce and sandwich look very good too…I like you frying technique with chopsticks…wow…wish i could see you making these
Hello Nami
Oh, it look so delicious! If this was in front of me (I mean the real Fried Shrimp), I think I will finished it up in few seconds! Anything that Nami made is absolutely delicious!
I remember having ebi fry served with curry rice in a…(you ‘re right!)…curry house. I like your idea of that shrimp sandwich.
I love fried shrimp in every way it can be prepared so this is a winner. Not only do I put these ‘torpedo’ shrimp in my sushi rolls but the idea of adding them to a sandwich like a crab roll is wonderful.
These prawns look so golden and crispy and delicious!
I love this so much! Fried shrimp are so delicious.
Oh my gosh. You seriously have my stomach growling Nami. This is one of my favourites-thank you for sharing. It’s been on my wish list for recipes to learn to make from you. You made my day!
Your shrimp looks perfect my friend, beautiful photos
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Perfect lunch, indeed, Nami! The Tartar sauce looks so good together with shrimp, yummy. I like that Tartar sauce has eggs in it, I love boiled eggs, can eat them all the time. Very good dish, thank you Nami.
I understand you son, I relly love prawns, and I have to be hurry to have some because during summer nobody can eat prawns.
Oh, yum! We are having chicken katsu tonight and I so wish we were having ebi fry instead! Maybe tomorrow night…Thank you for sharing your homemade tartar sauce, too!
i just used some panko on my dinner tonight!! Those little sandwiches look great.
hi,
your ebi-fry look amazing. I”m going to try it out and then make an ebi-fry bento for my kids and see how they like it.
Hi Nobuko-san! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I hope your children enjoy the ebi fry bento!
That looks delish! I’m sure my brother would love it…he doesn’t eat prawns but will if it’s ebi-fry or tempura =.=’ haha. Really interesting that you had mashed egg in the sauce – I’ve never seen that before…
I love this rbi…but yet have to try to make at home…yours look so professionally done…and the pictures are always so cool.
Hope you are having a fabulous week Nami
Wow, that sandwich looks amazing. I love deep fried panko covered anything. Ahah
This looks so delicious Nami! Fried/crusted prawns are my all time favorite and this recipe looks so easy too
Oh wow!!! These look so good and the ingredients are easy to find.
I’ll try this out soon!
MMM I LOVE THIS
As Shrimp is one of my favorites and fried anything is good in my book, I’m all in!
What a delicious snacky meal Nami.
Mandy
Nami, my family would love for me to make these fried prawns with your delicious homemade tartar sauce – it looks like the perfcet family meal and your step-by-step instructions and photography are just incredible, again!
Your food always looks so appetizing, Nami. No wonder your son always requests for this.
These are perfectly crispy!!
Wow! These look so delicious – crispy and golden!!
What a feast! I would love every bite of these fried shrimp.
You are SUCH a good cook Nami!!! All your dishes are like restaurant perfect
I love Ebi fry and love ordering it at restaurants but because Mr Bao is allergic we don’t order it much 
Those little sandwiches look amazing. Gabbi has said she wants to take her lunch to school and I’m looking forward to lots of bento boxes in her future.
oh, Those sandwich really making me tempting! I never make ebi sandwich before and i should give it a try.
thanks for the step by step pictures– i’m hungry now
Oh… I love this dish. I really like fryed prawns! What is panko made of then? I am very curious and always asked myself what is made of because the result you have with it so so differnet then the normal bread crumbs.
Ciao.
Um, yes please! I adore fried shrimp. We had some at our favorite Japanese restaurant in Austin over the weekend. I need to garner the courage and make them at home! I’m glad to be back visiting your blog! I have had to check out of the internet world for the past month or so, and it feels good to be back. I hope you have a beautiful day!
I can’t believe how good your food is at home! When can I come over for dinner? Hehehe…Kidding aside, Nami, your food is always very professional-looking – like in a restaurant! And your photography just makes the food look even better, too! Now, we have to do something with the taste…because I NEED to taste it! Wish we were neighbours…LOL!
P.S. Your husband is Hokkien, too? From Taiwan? Nice!
I love tonkatsu and I love fried shrimp, Japanese style. This reminds me I have all these ingredients in my kitchen. Will make this tonight. Thanks for sharing, Nami!
I can’t believe I’ve never used Panko for frying! Have been raised in the south I guess I’ve stuck with the traditional cornmeal batter which I do love; however, it might just be time to check out Panko. Your fried shrimp (which I LOVE) looks crispy and so good! Bobby came home yesterday and said that he had eaten a fried shrimp Po-boy so now I’m dying for some fried shrimp! I’ve got to try this!
We ate a lot of breaded fried shrimp at home growing up–they’re also standard fare in Filipino kitchens but they were called camaron. When I order curry rice I almost always order it with fried shrimp but I’ve never made it at home. When I do I’ll make your tartar sauce, too. Loved looking at the technique in your pictures. I’ve never soaked onions before to mellow them out. Great tip!
One of the first dish I had while in Japan. Love the sandwich idea. Looks delicious.
love it!! the ebi looks perfectly fried!
Ohhh ebi tempura maki is my favorite! If I ever get a sushi kit or learn how I will totally come back to this recipe!
Who doesn’t like shrimp? And who doesn’t like fried shrimp? One of my favorites, and you did this dish proud. I haven’t made my own tartar sauce in ages, and now you have me craving it! Such good stuff – thanks so much.
Oh Nami they look so amazing, I’m drooling over here!
Oishisou! I’m like your son– if there’s an ebi furai bento available, then I’ll just choose that one without looking at any of the others.
Dear Nami,
I made this recipe yesterday and I can tell you that especially the tartar sauce was great. The shrimps were also great. I had one problem. All my shrimps curled after coming out of the fryer.
How can I prevent the curling of the shrimps so it looks like the ones in restaurants? After all, jumbo shrimps are expensive and I wanted my work to look very professional. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Alfredo! Thank you so much for trying this recipe already! I’m happy you liked the tartar sauce too.
About the straight shrimp. Did you do step #7? It directs you to the following link:
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/how-to/how-to-prepare-shrimp-for-shrimp-tempura-ebi-fry/
In that link, step #3 is the key to make the shrimp straight. After step #3, the shrimp is no longer curling up.
Hope your ebi fry will be very straight next time.
Nami,
My fault, I missed the link in Step #7. In the heat of the moment, I completely missed the link. Thank you for pointing this out.
Alfredo2
Hi Alfredo! I’m sorry the link is not obvious – I wish I know how to edit the recipe format but I need to learn more coding.
Your Ebi Fry will be perfect next time.
That looks so delicious! Want to try some!
Mouthwateringly delicious! I love the sandwiches.
Cheers,
Rosa
Hi Nami! Thanks for the shrimp tutorial. My fried shrimp also curl up and it was neat to realize it was because I was missing a critical cutting step. I hope to try your tips next time because that shrimp sandwich is calling my name
Oh yum! I lOVE the ebi fry sandwich idea. Don’t let Mark sees this though. He gets tempted to make fried foods at home too often. I have to ask him to space it out. Well, for the health conscious in me, but also frying takes too much time to clean up:) nevertheless. this ebi fry is surely make it to our weekend meal!
Oh no, Nami. I told Mark that you just made ebi fry and they look so good. He is already thinking of frying up some fish fillet with panko (sakana fry?) for dinner tonight. And he says he will do the clean-up. Oh yes!:)
Haha! Before I had a chance to respond to your first comment, Mark was already frying up! I have this Japanese aluminum foil U-shape barrier/shelter around the deep fryer (do you know what I’m talking about?) that prevents oil from splattering around too much. Daiso has one, although now you probably have no closest Daiso in your area…
How yummy. I do love the look of these stuffed into the rolls. I love anything fried in panko crumbs – it gives the food such excellent crunch. xx
Your Ebi fry sandwich is just so mouthwatering! Great recipe as always and amazingggg pics…
Oh, mine! These fried shrimps look amazing! I’d eat a ton of them, really
Hi Nami…missed all your lovely post. Hope all is well with you. These look so crispy and tempting:)
Oh my gosh Nami this looks TO DIE for!
This is totally something I would love to make at home! We adore shrimp, and should cook them more often – bookmarked!
I think your son has an excellent taste because I also love ebi fry!! Those crispy fried prawns are just so addicting. The tartar sauce looks fantastic as well. Thanks for sharing the awesome recipe. I am looking forward to the Japanese burger recipe!
Definitely delicious. Can you adopt me Nami? I’ll be polite and I’ll always finish my meal, it’s a promise
Haha! Thank you Serena!
this looks so perfect, nami! yums ^^!
Beautifully done, as always! I absolutely love prawns! The tartar sauce over the prawns looks so delicious – not to mention the sandwhich!
I usually make the egg mixture for my egg salad sandwich but after looking at this, I am tempted to add fried prawn too! Lovely recipe Nami.
Yum! These are one of my favorite. I don’t usually make the tartar sauce. I gotta give that a try next time.
I’m drooling over here.
I cannot wait to try this recipe Nami! This is one of my hubby’s favourite!
Hi Megan! Hope he will like this recipe!
Hi Naomi, I didn’t know we can make our own tartar sauce! So simple and healthier than those commercial type. I love Ebi Fry too and will definitely try out this sauce at home.
Ooh, I like the shrimp on the roll. Looks tasty!
Looks wonderful, Nami! I love the lightly fried coating; it sounds delicious!
Yum yum, I love all fried stuffs , so this is perfect for me. I like you sandwich with dinner rolls.
My kids love this type of food too. They find the crunch irresistable
Oh my God I love those sandwiches! I could probably finish two or three of those easily! Yes, I like using panko whenever I can because they are lite and less greasy unlike regular breadcrumbs. Almost weekend, so have a good weekend, Nami!
My husband is just like your son, he loves ebi fry. I do too but I think more than I. Thanks for sharing now I can make it for special occasions for him. Also thanks for the info on panko I have wanting to know the difference between it and western breading.
Hubby loves shrimp and I know how much he’d love this dish.
Gorgeous photos as usual Nami
Oh yummmm! This is so wonderful – ebi fry sandwich. The tartar sauce looks so amazing and perfect for this dish. Those popular yoshoku reminds me of Japan Town, we used to visit that place a lot.
Super crunchy! Double the coating? You must end up with really clumpy fingers! hee! hee! As always, looks delicious!
We love shrimps, and that sandwich looks delicious!
Oh yum Nami..This is the first time I have seen fried shrimp dredged in egg..so unique & sounds so wonderful. Fried shrimp is one of my most fav things & I can eat them w/o counting ..I can see myself trying these at some!
Yum, I love these. My daughter always ordered the tempura when she was little and we went to sushi, but she wouldn’t touch the shrimp. Guess who had to polish them all off, lol. Hope you have a great weekend. Will have to make me a batch of these and then I can have them all to myself.
-Gina-
YUM! I love this and it’s a must order dish at the restaurant:D the sauce looks delish! unlike the ones that usually accompany Ebi fry, which is similar to soya sauce but lighter.
My husband always orders a bento with the pork cutlet that’s fried with the panko, very nice.
Nami, looks delish. Who can resist prawns in a Panko coat?. I like the idea of them in rolls too. Interesting Jap/Euro food I guess everyone has there muliculturalism
Oh my God – that sandwich in the last pic! Total drool-fest!
Love shrimp so much… I think there’s almost no way of improving it, unless of course… yep, it’s got a crispy, fried shell around it. These look amazing Nami! I never heard of tartar sauce with egg before… is it traditional in Japan or just the way you usually do it in your house?
I believe most of tartar sauce you find in Japan has boiled eggs in it. I was actually shocked that tartar sauce outside Japan doesn’t have eggs in it… LOL!
Nami, I’m so hungry looking at this!! The shrimp are beautiful, and my stomach feels like it’s ready to gurgle as I’m reading about the tartar sauce.
By the way, my mom made this fried shrimp that she often makes on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I was helping her deep-fry on Thanksgiving. And I told her about how you said that we should remove stray pieces of batter or breading so they don’t overcook and darken the oil. It worked great — excellent tip!
These look so perfectly crispy and delicious!
hi Nami I love it that some of the dishes are familiar to me now! And this prawn dish looks amazing. I don’t do much deep fry, I must admit, but that sauce! I will definitely use that idea. Feeling close to Japan at the moment, as my daughter flew over to Tokyo last week to spend some time with her brother, and was very excited to feel her first earthquake – then the big one came – but they were up in the snow in Nagano, so missed the worst of it – they heard a terrific rumble, though.
Your posts are always so informative. Now I know why the shrimp are so light and crunchy.
Wow Nami! My husband would be over the moon with panko fried shrimp for dinner, maybe I’ll be super nice and make him a batch for dinner;-) The sandwiches remind me of the po’ boy sandwiches(filled with oysters, shrimp-any kind of seafood) they serve in New Orleans that are also my husband’s favorites;-)
This looks heavenly Nami! It’s funny how we still remember those little tricks we learned in cooking class in school
I love what you did with the leftovers too! YUM!
Hate to be a wet blanket but I like the traditional tenpura batter better. I went to a Japanese resturant recently and they served ebi-furai with panko only. Can’t say I liked it. But I love shrimp! By the way has anybody heard about arsenic found in rice?
Hi Jim! “Ebi Fry” is always coated by Panko, and different from Tempura batter.
Nope, I’ve never heard of arsenic found in rice before.
this looks really good, i think ive had it before. i was wondering if you could add japanese style pizza to your list of things to make and the purple potato ice cream please. love your site, its really got me into cooking! most ive cooked in my life (which isnt saying much since im 18) i cook something new from your recipes twice a week because i LOVE japanese food and its just too expensive here to buy often. thanks for making my life more interesting
oh yea and your kids are soo cute!
Hi Jhiselle!
Did you mean Okonomiyaki? If so, I have a recipe here:
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/okonomiyaki/
Some people requested teh purple potato ice cream before and I have it on my list to make.
Thank you so much for following my blog and I appreciate your kind words and support!
I think that once we discovered panko breadcrumbs, we never looked back and used regular breadcrumbs. They’re so crispy crunchy and delicious!
Nami, Ebi Fry and other yooshoku dishes are among my favourite Japanese dishes. Your ebi fry looks perfect (as all the dishes you prepare). I must admit I make it very often, but have never dared posting because my ebi is always curled… (the taste is fantastic though!). I have just seen your tutorial and will be experimenting with ebi fry very soon! Christmas seems to be a great occasion to serve it, but I have to make tests before.
I cannot take my eyes off the ebi fry sandwich… It looks so soft and the shrimp so crunchy, and I am really hungry because it’s after midday and I haven’t had lunch yet!
I think chicken katsu will be my Sunday treat
Wish I can still have shrimps
… They look so yummy, my only choice is to use fish instead.
An ebi fry sandwich! Genius Nami! These look like they were fried to perfection. Mr. N and Miss A always order these when we go out for sushi. It’s one of their favorites. I never would have thought to make a sandwich out of it. I bet they would love that too.
Oh, Nami, your fried shrimp alone and in a sandwich is fantastic!!! I seriously could eat either for breakfast…so yummy!
I think your son has wonderful taste
And the tartar sauce recipe is cool. Not something I would thin of making.
This fried shrimp looks delicious! I also like to use the panco crumbs for coating – their texture is better than the usual breadcrumbs.
Yum! You just made me want to eat Japanese food again! I found a good one in Milan the other day. Real Japanese and my husband and I enjoyed everything.
Nami….those prawns look so crunchy crispy good! I don’t blame your son for wanting only these!!! I have to say….I LOVE your photography and your sense of food styling! Just beautiful! : )
That sauce is especially tempting!
Just the shrimp fry alone would be enough for me and I guess I can eat more than a dozen of those
I have had Ebi Fry on a few ocassions (eating out) and love it. The panko coating is wonderful! Beautiful presentation, as always! Thank you for sharing this. Allen.
No wonder your son just wants that Ebi Fry – they look so crunchy fabulous, Nami! Not even in a sandwich but just one their own look like crispy perfection.
Hello yum! I’ve never tried eggs in my tartar, I’ll have to give that a shot. I’m absolutely in love with those ebi fry sliders – they look adorable and so tasty with the slaw.
Freaking amazing. I’ve always wondering how you get your shrimp in such a wide length! Now I know the secret!
I love shrimps and this is a beautiful way to prepare them Nami! I love learning new ways to cook them!
I can’t resist to these fried shrimps!!!
http://www.francescainthekitchen.blogspot.com
Dear Nami,
This is another classic Japanese wonder that I absolutely love at Japanese restaurants. I don’t like deep frying at home coz of all the oil so I always order these prawns if it’s on the menu. The cold Japanese mayo dressing is a match in heaven too!
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