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You will not believe how good this recipe for Salmon Tempura Jalapeño Bites is. Crispy and lightly spicy…with the sushi-grade salmon and eel sauce – in my not-so-humble opinion, they are amazing!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Salmon Tempura Jalapeño Bites
Creamy sushi-grade salmon meets delicate tempura and a toasty jalapeño crunch – this Japanese-inspired fusion is one of my favorite creations yet! It does take a bit of work, but it is absolutely worth every second of it!
Prep Like a Pro
Chop and Zest
- Jalapeños: 6, medium or large, cut in half with the seeds removed
- Sushi-Grade Salmon: 12 oz, chopped until almost paste-like or cubed depending on preference
- Lemon: 1, zest only
- Chives: 2 tbsp, chopped
Gather
- Grapeseed Oil: for frying
- Tequila: ¼ cup, ice cold
- Egg: 1
- Sparkling Water: ⅓ cup, ice cold
- Potato Starch: ⅓ cup
- All-Purpose Flour: ⅓ cup
- Salt: 1 pinch
- Sesame Oil: 1½ tsp + 1 tsp, divided
- Japanese Mayo: ¼ cup
- Sriracha: 3 tbsp
- Soy Sauce: ¼ cup + 1 tsp, divided
- Sugar: ¼ cup + ½ tsp, divided
- Rice Vinegar: ¼ cup
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🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
- Make sure your tempura batter stays cold! It’s very important with a tempura batter recipe because the whole point is for the gluten to not develop, which keeps the batter a light, airy consistency so you have the perfect spicy salmon jalapeño bite!
- Don’t overcrowd your pot of oil when frying the jalapeños. Overcrowding lowers the temperature of the oil and can really mess up that crispy light coating.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitutions
- Grapeseed Oil → You can use any high heat point, neutral oil you would like.
- Jalapeños → Swap these for Serrano, Fresno, poblano, or even banana peppers if you’d like, just make sure they’re big enough to put the spicy salmon inside of the bites.
- Japanese Mayo → Don’t have Japanese mayo? That’s okay. Mix regular mayo with a splash of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar instead.
- Variations
- Alcohol-free Variation → The tequila does help the crisp, but it will be crisp without it. So if you want this alcohol-free, just omit it.
- Truffle Twist → Add a few drops of truffle oil into the salmon mixture, but make sure you don’t overdo it!
- Poke Style → Instead of cutting the salmon till pastelike, you can leave the salmon in cubes and add avocado to make this more of a poke feel.
The Perfect Pairings
These Spicy Salmon Tempura Jalapeño Bites pair well with a bright, fresh Cucumbertini. As your main, Crispy Chicken Thighs in a Sake Butter Sauce with an Arugula Fennel Salad 🥗 Lastly, a light Passion Fruit Panna Cotta is just what you need!
Salmon Tempura Jalapeño Bites: Questions Answered
I’ve been ordering from Yama Seafood and LOVE their quality! I will also get it locally sometimes, but the quality from Yama is amazing!
No, this recipe for the jalapeño tempura batter needs to be made right beforehand, and it can only be refrigerated for a little bit. The whole point of the tempura batter is for it to be light and airy, and that can’t happen if the gluten develops, which will happen if it’s made too far ahead.
The eel sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, it needs to cool, so I recommend that anyways. The sauce for the spicy salmon can be made ahead and stored in the fridge also. Then wait to make the batter, chop the fish, fry, and assemble till right before serving.
Salmon Tempura Jalapeño Bites
Equipment
- baking sheet
- wire rack
- 2 bowls
- saucepan
- pot
Ingredients
- 6 jalapeños, medium or large
- flour, for dusting
- grapeseed oil, for frying
Batter:
- ¼ cup ice cold tequila
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup ice cold sparkling water
- ⅓ cup potato starch
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1½ tsp sesame oil
Spicy Salmon
- 12 oz sushi grade salmon, chopped until almost paste-like
- ¼ cup japanese mayo
- 3 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped
Eel sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
Instructions
- Wash and slice the jalapeños in half. Remove seeds and, using a paper towel, dry as well as you can. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Add your dry jalapeños on top of it and sprinkle flour on both sides.
- Batter: In a bowl or high rimmed plate, whisk together the tequila, egg and sparkling water. Add in potato starch, flour, salt and sesame oil and mix well. Place in the fridge till you're ready to use. Make sure this remains cold.
- Eel Sauce: Add your soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar to a saucepan and simmer until it coats the back of a spoon, about 5-7 minutes after it starts simmering. Cool immediately in the fridge or an ice bath. You can also make this ahead of time and let cool.
- Spicy Salmon: In a bowl, mix the Japanese mayo, sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, lemon zest, chives. Taste and adjust. Chop your sushi grade salmon until it is like a paste. Mix this into the sauce.
- Preheat your a pot with grapeseed oil until it reaches 375°F.
- Get your cold batter out of the fridge and lightly coat the jalapeños in the batter. Add a couple of them to the hot oil at a time – don't overcrowd it or the oil will cool and you won't get that perfect golden crisp. Fry until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes in batches. Let them rest on a cooling rack to remove excess oil and lightly cool.
- Pipe the fish into the tempura jalapeño. Top with eel sauce, sesame seeds and scallions.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
