Tenmusu Onigiri are crispy breaded prawns, flavoured with a sweet tsuyu sauce, wrapped in Sushi rice and crispy Nori. </ strong>With this recipe, you can conjure up delicious shrimp rice balls that will have you hooked! The preparation isn’t exactly straightforward, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You’re sure to love the culinary reward at the end!
The word ‘Tenmusu’ is made up of two words – Tempura and omusubi – which roughly translates as ‘rice balls’. The Japanese like to shorten names by taking the first few syllables of the words; hence we end up with Ten(pura) + (o)musu(bi) 😊.
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Tenmusu are a very special speciality from Nagoya. Nagoya is the capital of the Japanese prefecture of Aichi and has always been a hub for the movement of goods in the heart of Honshu. With over two million inhabitants, Nagoya is the fourth-largest city in Japan after Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka.
There are many unique Nagoya specialities, such as misokatsu, kishimen noodle soup or the hearty hitsumabushi. However, tenmusu – filled with deep-fried prawns and wrapped in Nori – best combines the salty Umami flavour of prawns and seaweed with freshly cooked rice.
Today, in my recipe for Tenmusu Onigiri, I’ll show you the best way to make these delicious rice balls. And here’s the most important tip before you start: when deep-frying, make sure to keep the oil temperature at a minimum of 160°C!
Tenmusu Onigiri
Makes 12 | 45 minutes | 140 kcal
🖨️ Print PDF 📌 Save pinTenmusu are crispy breaded prawns, flavoured with a sweet tsuyu sauce, wrapped in sushi rice and crispy Nori. With this recipe, you can conjure up delicious shrimp rice balls that will have you hooked! The preparation isn’t exactly straightforward, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You’re sure to love the culinary reward at the end!
Ingredients (for 12 pieces)
600 g cooked rice (see recipe):
✔ 300 g loose rice (im Shop ansehen)*
✔ 300 ml water (fresh, cold tap water)
✔ 1 pinch salt
For the filling:
12 medium-sized prawns (frozen, ready to cook)
50 g wheat flour
10 g katakuriko (potato starch) (im Shop ansehen) *
3 g baking powder
1 pinch salt
120 ml water with 5 ice cubes
2 cups oil for deep-frying (e.g. rapeseed oil)
2 tbsp Tsuyu (im Shop ansehen)*
2 sheets nori sheets (im Shop ansehen)*
Useful tools:
Japanese Yukihiara saucepan
Fine-mesh sieve (im Shop ansehen)
Kitchen thermometer (auf Amazon* kaufen)
Preparation (45 minutes)
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients for the Onigiri and take the rice (see the recipe here in a rice cooker or in a saucepan + leave to cool for 20 minutes).
Also, defrost the frozen prawns, then rinse and pat dry.
Step 2
Fill a sufficiently large pan with the oil (a pan with a 16 cm diameter is filled to a height of 3 cm, which corresponds to approximately 500 ml of oil). Heat the oil to 160–180°C . Always check the temperature with a kitchen thermometer.
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together the flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt. Then mix in the ice-cold water using a whisk.
Tip: The batter is ready as soon as it forms bubbles and there are only a few lumps left – this should be achieved after about 10 to 15 seconds of vigorous stirring. Please do not stir for too long!
Step 4
Once the oil has reached the correct temperature, dip the prawns in small batches (about 3 to 4 prawns at a time) into the tempura batter and immediately fry them in the hot oil for about 3 minutes.
Step 5
The batter should have small bubbles and a golden surface. Carefully lift the cooked tempura shrimp out of the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
Step 6
Then prepare a small bowl with the tsuyu . Dip all the prawns into this briefly and place them back on the kitchen paper.
Step 7
Cut the nori sheets into 12 long strips using scissors.
Step 8
Fill a small bowl with lightly salted water and set it aside. Wet your hands thoroughly in it to shape the rice balls (as if you were about to wash your hands) .
Take about 50 g of the rice and, using pressure between your wet palms, shape it first into a round ball and then carefully flatten it slightly into a cylindrical shape.
Tip: You can also use cling film as an aid or special onigiri moulds ;).
Shape a total of 12 rice balls.
Step 9
Next, make a small indentation in each rice ball, place a seasoned Tempura prawn in each one and wrap everything with a strip of Nori .
Step 10
Once all the Onigiri are ready, they should be eaten as soon as possible. Onigiri are best when fresh, as the rice quickly becomes dry and the nori sheet slightly soggy after a while. Ready – Itadakimasu!
Are you looking for even more delicious Onigiri recipe ideas from Japan? Here you’ll find my most popular guides:
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Have you tried the recipe? Let me know in the comments – I can’t wait to hear from you!
