Tempura

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For the paint and art technique, see tempera.

Image:Tempura.JPG Image:Tempura IceCream hmmmm.JPG Tempura (Japanese: てんぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura) refers to classic Japanese deep fried batter-dipped seafood and vegetables. The batter is made of ice cold water, flour, and egg yolks. Small dry bite-sized pieces of food are dipped in flour, then in batter, and then deep fried for 2-3 minutes. In high class restaurants, sesame oil or a mixture of sesame and other cooking oils is used. Because of the cost of sesame oil, this is rarer in lower grade restaurants.

Western chefs frequently include tempura dishes on their menus but seldom with 'authentic' results. This largely stems from a misunderstanding about mixing the batter which, in classic cookery, must be beaten until homogeneous. Good tempura batter is mixed with chopsticks, for only for a few seconds. This leaves numerous lumps in the mixture and results in the unique tempura structure when cooked. Also crucial is that tempura batter be made freshly, with ice-cold water, in small batches.

Batter-coated deep frying was introduced to the Japanese by Portuguese missionaries during the 16th century. The origin of the word tempura is due to Portuguese missionaries that ate fish due to the Catholic proscription against meat during Lent, in Latin, "ad tempora cuaresmae", meaning "in the time of Lent".

Cooked bits of tempura are then either dipped in tentsuyu sauce (roughly three parts dashi, one part mirin, and one part shoyu) or sprinkled with scant sea salt before eating. Mixtures of powdered green tea and salt or yuzu and salt are also used. Tempura is commonly served with grated daikon and is best eaten hot immediately after frying.

In Japan, restaurants specializing in tempura are called tenpura-ya and range from inexpensive fast food chains to highly revered and very expensive five-star restaurants. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or a bento (lunch box).

Often cooked in this fashion are shrimp, squid, shiitake mushroom, sweet potato, yam, kabocha squash, burdock, carrot, a wide variety of fish, and many others. Things not generally served as tempura include rice and other cereals, processed foods such as tofu (although some versions of agedashi dofu resemble tempura), and fruits. Notable exceptions are ice cream and banana.

Tempura is also used in combination with other foods. When served over soba (buckwheat noodles), it is called tempura soba or tensoba. Tempura is also served as a donburi dish where tempura shrimp and vegetables are served over steamed rice in a bowl (tendon).

Common ingredients include:

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External links

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See also

fr:Tempura it:Tempura ja:天ぷら pl:Tempura ru:Темпура sv:Tempura zh:天婦羅 cz:Temura

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