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Shrimp Tempura Rolls (Godzilla Rolls) are by far my favorite sushi roll that I can make at home. Cream cheese, avocado, and shrimp all rolled into a fried roll with spicy mayo. Perfection!
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These Shrimp Tempura Rolls, also called Godzilla Roll Sushi, are my my favorite sushi rolls to make! They’re basically a combo of several different rolls that I love at sushi restaurants, but so much cheaper than takeout to make right at home. In fact, you can make about ten of these for the price you would pay for one at a restaurant! I realize this isn’t going to be a “family rotation” meal for most of you, but if you have an upcoming anniversary or just feel in the mood to make something different, this is a great one! I love the spicy mayonnaise drizzled over the top. YUM.
Ingredients in a Shrimp Tempura Roll
- Sushi Rice – see our post on how to cook sushi rice or, if you have an Instant Pot, our post on Instant Pot sushi rice. Plain white regular rice or short-grain rice won’t work for sushi rolls.
- Nori seaweed sheets – use a sheet of nori that is dry roasted seaweed
- Prepared shrimp tempura – I bought frozen pre-cooked tempura shrimp and then baked them on a baking sheet. But you can also fry them yourself using your own tempura batter. If you don’t like shrimp, you can use soft shell crab or any other type of shellfish.
- Avocado – overripe avocado is a little easier to roll
- Cream cheese
- Flour
- Tempura batter
- Oil – vegetable oil or any oil for frying
- Sushi rolling bamboo mat
Additions and Substitutions
Once you have a base for this tempura roll recipe, you can switch up the ingredients as much as you like. Try some of these ideas:
- Ginger
- Wasabi
- A sprinkle of Rice Vinegar
- Drizzle Teriyaki Sauce
- Sesame Seeds
- Sea Salt
- Red Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Scallions
- Spicy tuna
- Shredded lettuce
- Unagi sauce
No Raw Fish in this Sushi
These Shrimp Tempura Rolls don’t contain any raw seafood so I am not afraid to make them at home. I will only eat raw fish if I am at a trusted restaurant, and I am pretty picky about my raw seafood. I don’t dare to prepare it myself unless I know that I am getting it from ocean to my kitchen in less than 12 hours, so as you can probably guess with me living in BOISE, that doesn’t happen too often. The shrimp in these Godzilla Rolls is fully cooked so there are no worries!
Great Sushi for Beginners
This recipe seems more complicated than it really is. Don’t be scared. Especially if you have made California Rolls, you will find that these Shrimp Tempura Rolls are easy. Once you get the hang of rolling sushi rolls, it’s really no biggie. Instead of battering my own crispy shrimp tempura, I just bought the pre-made stuff in the freezer section of the grocery store. If you want to be fancy, you can batter your own but that is too much work for me. If you don’t like battered shrimp, feel free to use just regular, cooked shrimp. Do whatever you like best. I also love the creamy avocado and tangy cream cheese in these rolls. So yummy!
Serving Suggestions
Provide serving suggestions, like serving the rolls with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi on the side.
Frequently Asked Questions
An easy shrimp tempura roll mostly consists of shrimp, avocado, cucumber, sushi rice and nori. But you can add or substitute ingredients as you like.
Yes! Tempura is a Japanese dish in which food is lightly battered and then deep fried.
Yes! The recommendation to not eat sushi while pregnant is referring to raw fish. The fish in this roll is fully cooked!
If you love sushi, but don’t love raw fish, there are still options for you to enjoy! For example, the California roll features avocado and imitation crab, Spam musubi sushi is made with Spam, rice, and nori to create a flavorful combination, tamago sushi is made with egg, unagi is made using smoked eel, and there’s always a smoked salmon roll. If you want to go full vegetable, you could try an avocado or cucumber roll.
Read more: 35+ Lunch Easy Ideas
More Sushi Inspired Recipes
We love recipes for sushi and Asian-inspired rolls. They are perfect for when that sushi craving hits. Once you’ve made our Shrimp Tempura Rolls, try some of our other favorites:
How to Make a Shrimp Tempura Roll
Shrimp Tempura Roll
Video
Equipment
- Bamboo sushi mat
Ingredients
- Sushi Rice click HERE
- 1 sheet Nori, dry roasted seaweed
- 3 pieces shrimp tempura prepared, I bought mine frozen from the store and baked them
- 2 slices avocado
- 3 teaspoons cream cheese (use the block cream cheese and cut into a couple long, rectangular slices)
- ½ cup flour
- tempura batter
- oil for frying
For the Spicy Mayo:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 1 dash sesame oil
Instructions
- Lay the bamboo sushi rolling mat on a cutting board with bamboo strips going horizontally from you. Cover the bamboo with a piece of plastic wrap. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat, shiny side down. Spread cooked rice on top of the seaweed in a thin layer and press firmly.
- Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top. Place shrimp tempura, avocado and cream cheese lengthwise at the top of the sheet on the seaweed, not on top of the rice.
- Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients inside the cylinder-shaped sushi (the KEY is to roll it TIGHT). Press the bamboo mat firmly with hands, then remove the rolled sushi. For further rolling instruction, see the video below.
- Roll the roll in flour then dip entire rice roll in tempura batter and deep fry (oil heated to 350-degrees) for about 3 minutes or until batter turns crispy and golden brown (you DON'T need to do this in a deep fryer. You can just do about ½ cup – 1 cup of oil in a frying pan and keep turning the roll until it is golden brown on all sides). Remove from oil and let cool on a plate lined with paper towels.
- With a VERY sharp knife, cut the sushi roll into 4-5 pieces. Top with spicy mayo.
For the Spicy Mayo:
- In a small bowl, combine mayo, sriracha, and sesame oil to create the perfect ratio to your tastes.
- Stir until completely combined. Store in the fridge until you are ready to use.
Notes
- To save time, pick up a bag of frozen shrimp tempura at your local grocery store.
- Try garnishing with green onions, masago, and/or eel sauce.
- Use extra spicy mayo for dipping, or to spice up your favorite food.
- Use extra avocado to make yourself an avocado roll, easy and delicious!
- Serve with cucumber slices and soy sauce.
- Try using the remaining nori sheets as a yummy snack with your sushi roll. Cut with kitchen scissors into your desired size.
- Serve with fresh seaweed salad on the side for extra greens and a boost of Vitamin A!
I was so excited to find this recipe! One of our favorites when we get take out! So glad we can make it at home now!
This looks so delicious and yummy! My daughter and I are going to love this recipe!
Oh my goodness! My daughter has recently developed a love of sushi, being able to make this at home was awesome! This is a great recipe!
No need for me and my husband to go to a restaurant when we are craving for sushi rolls! This recipe is so spot on, we loved that spicy mayo too. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe.
Looks incredible. Defintely giving these a try! I think the kids will like them.
I feel the same way about sushi! Even going to a regular sushi restaurant I tend to stick with “cooked” or veggie sushi. I do like a good sushi; this recipe of yours here is fantastic! Love that it incorporates a cooked seafood so I can trust it with my family!
YUM!!! One of my absolute favorites! You did perfect with this recipe. All of the best flavors ever for sushi! Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh yum! I am a huge lover of sushi but have never tried it at home. Can’t wait to try this!
Oh yum!!! This looks fantastic. I love that the sushi is fried too and it is so original! I bet it was super fun to make like sushi is. The avocado combo in the recipe is SPOT on! Cheers
Oh I could totally eat all of these. I love making my own sushi.
These have all my favourite ingredients!! I loooove spicy mayo with shrimp. Yum yum!!
I love this roll. In addition, I buy eel sauce in a small bottle from my local Asian market. I also top my sushi with wasabi paste and ginger for the full experience. We have the same taste in sushi.
Ooh I love wasabi, too. great idea!
That’s beautiful! I love the tip of using pre-battered shrimp–that’s a great idea!
I would do this without the cream cheese. I just can’t get used to cream cheese in my sushi.
MY FAVORITE ROLL!! Thank you! Love how easy this is to make!!…I have everything but the avocado!
oh yes! A recipe for one of my fav item! Actually, everything on here is yummy. I am really excited to make these! Thanks Erika!
ps-congrats on baby #2
Thanks Makana! Don’t you miss having sushi in Hawaii? You couldn’t get more fresh than that!
Great recipe! We love making sushi at home and found this recipe easy to use. The only thing I’d add, though, is that you don’t need to use a full sheet of nori for a sushi roll. You can cut the sheet in half so that so much of your roll isn’t rice.