Tempura Squid (Ika)

By
Judy Ung
Judy Ung
Food writer, recipe developer, and blogger who has published hundreds of Japanese home-cooking recipes.
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Updated on 01/8/22
Deep fried calamari on skewers on market stall

David Sommers/EyeEm/Getty Images

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Tempura is a Japanese style of cooking that involves battered and deep-fried vegetables, protein or seafood. It is a very popular dish at Japanese restaurants in the West. In Japan, there are restaurants that specialize in tempura cuisine and are often considered fine dining. 

Squid, known in Japanese as “IKA” is a commonly used ingredient in tempura-style cooking. Ika tempura is also referred to as, aka furry, where “furry” translates to fried. 

The key to tender squid is not to overcook it, which makes tempura style cooking ideal, as the squid cooks quickly when flash fried.

Unique to this recipe is the addition of shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice chile pepper) and Aomori (dried green seaweed flakes) with a hint of Japanese spice and flavor.

As a short-cut, frozen calamari rings may be substituted for fresh squid. I recommend using only the body of the squid or calamari rings for this recipe. The tentacles tend to become tough and chewy.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound squid, body only, cleaned. or frozen calamari rings

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup potato starch

  • 1 large egg

  • 3/4 cup ice-cold water, or carbonated seltzer water, more as needed

  • Canola oil, for frying, as needed

  • 1/4 teaspoon shichimi togarashi, Japanese 7-spice chile pepper, plus more for garnish

  • 1/4 teaspoon aonori, Japanese green seaweed flakes, plus more for garnish

  • Salt, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Slice cleaned squid body into rings. 1/4-inch rings if using fresh squid, or use defrosted frozen calamari rings.

  2. In a deep medium pan, add oil and heat on medium-high until 350 F to 360 F. 

  3. While the oil is heating make the tempura batter. In a medium bowl, combine flour and potato starch (cornstarch may be substituted). Add shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice chile pepper) and aomori (dried green seaweed) to the tempura batter and gently incorporate.

  4. In a large measuring cup (it is easier to work with a large 4-cup measuring cup) crack egg, then add ice cold water so that the egg and water, together, equals 1 cup. Gently incorporate the egg and water without over-mixing.

  5. Add water and egg mixture to the dry ingredients and lightly incorporate. Don’t overmix as the batter becomes chewier and tougher (similar to what happens with overmixed cake batter).

  6. Work quickly while the tempura batter is still cold. Rather than dipping each calamari ring into the batter one at a time, try dipping several rings at once in the batter and quickly transferring them to the hot oil. Fry them until they are light gold, about 30 to 40 seconds. These don't take long to cook and might only be in the oil for about 1 minute.

  7. Allow the ika-furai to drain on paper towels and lightly sprinkle with salt, to taste. Garnish with additional shichimi togarashi (chile pepper) and aonori (dried green seaweed).

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
617 Calories
31g Fat
64g Carbs
20g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 617
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 31g 40%
Saturated Fat 3g 14%
Cholesterol 199mg 66%
Sodium 372mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 64g 23%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 5mg 26%
Calcium 50mg 4%
Iron 4mg 23%
Potassium 381mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)