Happy Splatoon 2 release day, squiddos! I’m sure everyone is busy inking up a storm right now, but if you get hungry and need a break I got your back with this Double-Fried Super Shwaffle recipe that’s sure hit the spot!
When you’re looking for a bite to eat in Inkopolis Square, you’ll want to make your way over to Crusty Sean’s food truck for some super fresh grub. (Crusty Sean… like crustacean? wow, I literally just got that joke haha.) In Splatoon 2, players can receive tickets for completing various in game tasks which they can then use at Crusty Sean’s “Crust Bucket” in exchange for food and drink. The effects of these food items vary between increasing experience and money earned whereas the drinks have more ability enhancing qualities such as speed boosts and shorter respawn time.
Welcome to the Crust Bucket. I’ve got snacks and drinks that’ll increase your experience and cash flow when you battle! Just give me a ticket, and I’ll hook you up with an item. What’ll it be?
– Crusty Sean
One of the breakout hits for the Wii U, Splatoon returns to the Nintendo Switch to deliver more inkredible action than ever before! For newcomers to the series, the game is a third-person shooter that puts you in the super stylish shoes of a young Inkling armed with ink dispensing weaponry. The main focus is on the multi player battles in which teams of inklings battle head to head to cover the majority of the arena with their own team’s colored ink. It’s really kind of amazing how Nintendo could take something as brutal as the shooter genre and turn it into something cute.
This was definitely a fun recipe to make just because of how strange it is in both appearance and flavor. I mean, I can’t say that I’ve ever tried tempura shrimp with chocolate sauce before, can you? There wasn’t really any way around that flavor combo unfortunately, but in the end it certainly wasn’t the WORST thing I’ve ever eaten. Sure, It wouldn’t be my first choice at the Crust Bucket, but hey, chicken and waffles are pretty popular, so why not shrimp and waffles! Honestly, if you were to take a bite of this massive ice cream waffle sandwich (easier said than done!) the shrimp barely ekes out above the ice cream and other sugary ingredients so it’s more like a background flavor if anything.
Because most of the ingredients for this Shwaffle would be store bought, I wanted to concentrate mostly on the development of the tempura batter. I actually tested a few different recipes live on my twitch channel before deciding on one and it was really interesting to see how they all fried up a little differently. In the end, my goal was to make a tempura shrimp recipe that could be enjoyed on its own in case people weren’t really feeling the chocolate and waffle combo, and in that I think I succeeded.
+ Tempura Shrimp and Waffles +
Enough batter for 1 lb of 13/15 shrimp
ITEMS
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Raw 13/15 Shrimp (thawed) | 1 lb |
| Egg | 1 |
| Seltzer (or water) ice cold | 8 floz (1 cup) |
| Mirin | 2 Tbsp. |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 cup |
| Corn Starch | as needed |
| Oil (for frying) | 2½ cups |
| Frozen Waffles | as needed |
EQUIP
- Sharp knife and a cutting board
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Heavy bottomed cook pot (for frying)
- Metal tongs
- Candy/frying thermometer (recommended)
- Paper towels
WALKTHROUGH
Before we get started, a word about shrimp sizes. You’ve most likely heard of “jumbo shrimp” before, but when it comes to buying shrimp, there’s actually several different sizes to choose from. Regardless of whether their frozen or raw, the bag of shrimp will often be printed with a large number or number range somewhere on it such as 26/30 or 13/15. This number refers to the average number of shrimp per pound. This means bags with lower numbers have fewer shrimp in them, but that they are larger sized. I attempted this recipe with a few different sizes and found that 13/15 shrimp yielded the best results.
1) If you’re lucky, your shrimp may come pre-peeled and deveined right from the store, but just in case it doesn’t, here’s the rundown. First peel the shell away using your fingers leaving the bottom segment and tail attached. Using a sharp knife, make a shallow slice along the top of the shrimp as in the picture below. If you see something that looks like a dark string running along your cut, that’s the vein. At this point you should be able to easily pull it out using your fingers or a toothpick.
2) If we were to fry the shrimp in their current form they’d curl right up, so in order to achieve that classic tempura look, we’ll need to straighten them out with a little minor surgery. Place the shrimp on its back and make several shallow incisions cross-wise all along the underside and use your fingers to press it flat. If it’s still giving you some resistance, try making more slices or deepening the ones you’ve already made.
3) One final bit of shrimp preparation is clipping the tail. Not only does it create an attractive V shape, but it allows moisture to escape that would otherwise be trapped inside the shrimp. As you can imagine, deep frying something that has water inside of it will cause a lot of popping and sputtering so we don’t want that. To clip the tail, place the shrimp down with the underside facing you. Use a sharp knife the cut diagonally across the tail as in the picture bellow (along the yellow line.) After you’ve finished that, remove the last segment of shell leaving the tail intact.
4) Now we’re ready to fry! Dust them with a little cornstarch and let the shrimp dry out a bit on some paper towels as you ready the oil. The amount of oil needed will vary by pan size, but you’ll generally want to fill it 1½” to 2″ deep. Place the oil over medium heat and use a thermometer to monitor the temperature if you have one.
5) You may have noticed how we haven’t even started making our tempura batter yet and there’s a reason for that. We want to put together the batter as close to the actual frying time as possible. This will ensure that the flour won’t have enough time to fully absorb the liquid and form too much gluten (get too thick.) In addition, we want the tempura batter to be as cold as possible before it hits the oil so this also severely limits the amount of time it’s left at room temperature. However, once the oil has reached 300°F and begins to shimmer, we’ll reduce the heat to low and begin putting it together.
6) To make the tempura batter, start by whisking an egg in a medium mixing bowl until foamy. To that pour in the cup of ice cold seltzer or water and the 2 Tbsp of mirin. Add the cup of flour and very gently use your fingers to combine. Remember, we’re trying to limit the amount of gluten formed, so we want to bring the batter together just enough so that it’s about the consistency of thick cream. Don’t worry if there are still several lumps of flour, just leave them be.
7) The oil should be around 330°F at this point so we can start cooking. Holding it by its tail, quickly dip the shrimp into the batter and then carefully drop it into the oil. I’d suggest cooking these guys 4 at a time so you don’t crowd the oil too much and make sure you have a place to put them once their done (paper towels on a plate work nicely.) Fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and use metal tongs to remove them from the hot oil.
8) Once all the shrimp is done we can fry our waffles. Do your best to remove any extra bits of fried batter you can grab with the tongs or with a metal slotted spoon first and then ensure the the oil temperature in back around 330°F. Fry the waffles one at a time and for 1 minute per side. Each Double-Fried Super Shwaffle takes two waffles, but you can make as many as you’d like!
+ Super Shwaffle Assembly +
ITEMS
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fried Waffles | 2 |
| Chocolate Syrup | as needed |
| Ice Cream | 2 scoops |
| Tempura Shrimp | 1 (recipe above) |
| Whipped Cream | as needed |
WALKTHROUGH
1) In order to get your Shwaffle looking pixel perfect, assemble it in the following order. Place the first waffle down and drizzle it with the chocolate syrup. Next, add two scoops of ice cream (I used cookies & cream for mine) to create a flat surface you can rest the second waffle on. Drizzle the second waffle with a little more chocolate syrup and secure the tempura shrimp to the top. Finish off this super fresh shwaffle with a little more chocolate and a dollop of whipped cream!
Hey! Thanks for reading all the the way to the end! You’re awesome :D! If you haven’t already and are looking for more nerdy food stuff, consider following me on Twitter, Facebook, tumblr and Instagram. I post a lot of work in progress pictures for the blog as well as stuff from my Twitch streams. If that sounds like something you’d be into, please check out those links above! Anyway, take care everyone and I’ll see you soon with an all-new recipe!
– Bryan
