Tempura

Tempura(天ぷらor天麩羅,tenpura,[tempɯɾa])is a typicalJapanese dishthat usually consists ofseafoodandvegetablesthat have been coated in a thinbatteranddeep-fried. Tempura originated in the 16th century, whenPortugueseJesuitsbrought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and frying, viaNanban trade.
A lightbatteris made of iced water,eggs,and softwheat flour(cake,pastryor all-purpose flour). Sometimesbaking sodaorbaking powderis added to make the batter light.Using sparkling water in place of plain waterhas a similar effect. Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches usingchopsticksfor only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that, along with the cold batter temperature, result in a unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice or placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice. Overmixing the batter will activate wheatgluten, which causes the flour mixture to become soft and dough-like when fried.
Specially formulated tempura flour is available in supermarkets. This is generally light (low-gluten) flour and occasionally contains leaveners such as baking powder.
Tempura does not use breadcrumbs (panko) in the coating.Deep-fried foods that are coated with breadcrumbs are calledfurai,Japanese-invented Western-style deep-fried foods, such astonkatsuorebi furai(fried prawn).
Noseasoningsor salt are added to the batter, or the ingredients,except for some recipes recommending rinsing seafood in salt water before preparation.
Thin slices or strips of vegetables or seafood are dipped in the batter, then brieflydeep-friedin hotoil.Vegetable oilorcanola oilare most common; however, tempura was traditionally cooked usingsesame oil.Many specialty shops still use sesame oil ortea seed oil, and it is thought certain compounds in these oils help to produce light, crispier batter.
The finished fry is pale whiteish, thin and fluffy,yet crunchy.
The bits of batter (known astenkasu) are scooped out between batches of tempura so they do not burn and leave a bad flavor in the oil.A small mesh scoop (ami jakushi) is used for this purpose.Tenkasuare often reserved as ingredients in other dishes or as a topping.
Various seafood and vegetables are commonly used as the ingredients in traditional tempura.
Types of seafood used in tempura include:
Vegetable tempura is calledyasai tempura. All-vegetable tempura may be served as avegetariandish. Types of vegetables include:
Cooked pieces of tempura are either eaten with dipping sauce, salted without sauce, or used to assemble other dishes. Tempura is commonly served with grateddaikonand eaten hot immediately after frying. In Japan, it is often found in bowls of soba or udon soup in the form of shrimp, shiso leaf, or fritter.  The most common sauce istentsuyusauce (roughly three partsdashi, one partmirin, and one partshōyu). Alternatively, skim tempura may be sprinkled withsea saltbefore eating. Mixtures ofpowdered green teaand salt oryuzuand salt are also used.Kakiageis a type of tempura made with mixed vegetable strips, such as onion, carrot, and burdock, and sometimes includingshrimporsquid, which are deep fried as small roundfritters.
Tempura is also used in combination with other foods. When served oversoba(buckwheat noodles), it is calledtempura sobaortensoba. Tempura is also served as adonburidish where tempura shrimp and vegetables are served oversteamed ricein a bowl (tendon) and on top ofudonsoup (tempura udon).
Earlier Japanese deep-fried food was either simply fried without breading or batter or fried with rice flour.However, toward the end of the 16th century, the technique of fritter-cooking with a batter of flour and eggs was acquired inNagasakiby Portuguese missionaries.Peixinhos da hortawas a dish often eaten duringLentorEmber daysto fulfill thefasting and abstinence rules for Catholics. The word "tempura" originates from theLatinwordtempora, a term referring to these fasting times(Spanish:Témporas).In those days, the ingredients were covered in thick batter containing flour, sugar and sake, and then fried in lard. As the batter already contained seasoning, it was eaten without dipping sauce.
In the early 17th century, around theTokyo Bayarea, tempura ingredients and preparation changed as theyatai(food cart) culture gained popularity. Making the best use of fresh seafood while preserving its delicate taste, tempura used only flour, eggs, and water as ingredients, and the batter was not flavored.  As the batter was mixed minimally in cold water, it avoided the dough-like stickiness caused by the activation of wheat gluten, resulting in the crispy texture now characteristic of tempura. It became customary to dip tempura quickly in a sauce mixed with grated daikon just before eating it.
Today in Japan, mainstream tempura recipes originate from "Tokyo-style" (also known as “Edo-style“) tempura, invented at the food stalls along the riverside fish market in the Edo period.  Tempura became popular largely due to the abundance of seafood. In addition, as oil extraction techniques advanced, cooking oil became cheaper. Serving deep-fried food indoors was prohibited during Edo because tempura oil was a fire hazard in Japanese buildings, which were made of paper and wood. Therefore, tempura gained popularity as fast food eaten at outdoor food stalls. It was skewered and eaten with a dipping sauce.  Tempura is considered one of "the Edo Delicacies" along withsoba(buckwheat noodles) andsushi, which were also food stall take-outs.
The modern tempura recipe was first published in 1671 in the cookbook called "料理献立抄". After the Meiji period, tempura was no longer considered a fast-food item but developed as a high-class cuisine.
The word "tempura", or the technique of dipping fish and vegetables into a batter and frying them, comes from the wordtempora, a Latin word meaning "times", "time period" used by both Spanish and Portuguese missionaries to refer to theLentenperiod orEmber Days(ad tempora quadragesima), Fridays, and other Christian holy days. Ember Days, orquatuor anni temporain Latin, refer to holy days when Catholics avoid meat and eat fish or vegetables instead.The idea that the word "tempura" may have been derived from thePortuguesenountempero, meaning a condiment or seasoning of any kind, or from the verbtemperar, meaning "to season" is also possible as the Japanese language could easily have assumed the wordtemperoas is, without changing any vowels as the Portuguese pronunciation, in this case, is similar to the Japanese.There is still today a dish inPortugalvery similar to tempura calledpeixinhos da horta, "garden fishes", which consists of green beans dipped in a batter and fried.
The term "tempura" is thought to have gained popularity in southern Japan; it became widely used to refer to any food prepared using hot oil, including some already existing Japanese foods.Today, particularly in western Japan, the word "tempura" is also commonly used to refer tosatsuma-age, fried surimi fish cake which is made without batter.
In Japan,restaurantsspecializing in tempura are calledtenpura-ya. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or abento(lunch box), and it is also a popular ingredient in take-out or convenience storebentoboxes.  The ingredients and styles of cooking and serving tempura vary greatly throughout the country, with importance placed on using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Outside Japan (as well as recently in Japan), there are many nontraditional andfusionuses of tempura. Chefs all over the world include tempura dishes on their menus, and a wide variety of different batters and ingredients are used, including nontraditionalbroccoli,zucchini,asparagusandchuchu. More unusual ingredients may includenorislices, dry fruit such asbananas, andice cream(tempura-basedfried ice cream).Americanrestaurants are known to serve tempura in the form of various types of meat, particularly chicken and cheeses, usuallymozzarella.A variation is to usepanko(breadcrumbs), which results in a crisper consistency than tempura batter, although in Japan this would be classified as afuraidish. Tempura (particularly shrimp) is often used as a filling inmakizushi. A more recent variation of tempura sushi has entire pieces of sushi dipped in batter and tempura-fried.
InBangladesh, the blossoms of pumpkins ormarrowsare often deep-fried with a gram of rice flour spice mix, creating a Bengali-style tempura known as kumro ful bhaja.
InTaiwan, tempura, as described in the preceding, is known astiānfùluó(天婦羅) and can commonly be found on the menu in Japanese restaurants all over the island. A similar-sounding dish,tianbula(Chinese:甜不辣;pinyin:tiánbùlà;lit.'sweet', 'not spicy') is usually sold atnight markets. Tianbula is Japanesesatsuma-ageand was introduced toTaiwan under Japanese ruleby people from Kyushu, where satsuma-age is commonly known astempura.