Tempura (てんぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura^?) is a classic Japanese dish of deep fried battered vegetables or seafood. Japanese Cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes Deep frying is a Cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or Fat. Batter is a liquid mixture usually based on one or more Flours combined with liquids such as Water, Milk or Beer. The term " vegetable " generally means the edible parts of Plants The definition of the word is traditional rather than Scientific, however Seafood is any Sea Animal or Seaweed that is served as Food, or is suitable for eating particularly saltwater animals such

Contents 1 Preparation 1.1 Batter and Frying 1.2 Ingredients 1.3 Serving and presentation 2 History and variations 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Preparation

Batter and Frying

A light batter is made of cold water and wheat flour. Flour is a powder made of Cereal grains It is the key ingredient of Bread, which is a staple food in many countries and therefore the availability Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added. An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals consisting of an Ovum surrounded by layers of Membranes and an outer casing which acts to nourish Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the Chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3 Baking powder is a dry chemical Leavening agent used in cooking mainly baking Starch, CAS # 9005-25-8 Chemical formula (C6H10O5n is a Polysaccharide An oil is a substance that is in a viscous Liquid state ( "oily") at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer and is A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks for only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that along with the cold batter temperature result in the unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice, or by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it. Over-mixing the batter will result in production of wheat gluten, which causes the flour mixture to become chewy and doughlike when fried. Gluten is a composite of the proteins Gliadin and Glutenin. These exist conjoined with Starch, in the Endosperms of some

Specially formulated tempura flour is available in Japanese supermarkets. This is generally light (low-gluten) flour and occasionally contains leaveners such as baking powder.

Some varieties of tempura are dipped in a final coating, such as sesame seeds, before frying. Tempura generally does not use breadcrumbs in the coating. Generally fried foods which are dipped in breadcrumbs (panko) are considered to be furai (Japanese-invented faux western-style deep fried foods, such as tonkatsu or ebi Fried Prawn). is a variety of Breadcrumb from Japanese cuisine and French cuisine used to create a crunchy coating for fried foods such as Tonkatsu Tonkatsu (豚カツ とんかつ or トンカツ pork cutlet invented in the late 19th century is a popular dish in Japan.

Thin slices or strips of vegetables or seafood are dipped in flour, then the batter, then briefly deep-fried in hot oil. Deep frying is a Cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or Fat. Cooking oil is purified Fat of Plant or Animal origin which is liquid at room temperature Vegetable oil or canola oil are most common, however tempura was traditionally cooked using sesame oil. Canola is a type of Edible oil derived from plants initially bred in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson in the 1970s Sesame oil (also known as "gingelly oil" or "til oil" is an edible Vegetable oil derived from Sesame seeds Besides being used as a Cooking Many specialty shops still use sesame oil or tea seed oil, and it is thought that certain compounds in these oils help to produce light, crisp batter. Tea seed oil (also known as tea oil or camellia oil) is an edible pale amber-green Fixed oil with a sweet herbal Aroma.

When cooking shellfish, squid, or hard-skinned watery vegetables such as bell pepper or eggplant, it is important to score the skin with a knife to prevent the ingredients from bursting during cooking. Failing to do so can lead to serious burns from splashing oil.

Oil temperature is generally between 160 and 180 degrees Celsius, depending on the ingredient. In order to preserve the natural flavour and texture of the ingredients, it is important not to overcook tempura. Cooking times range between a few seconds for delicate leaf vegetables, to several minutes for thick items or large kaki-age fritters.

It is important to scoop out the bits of batter (known as tenkasu) between batches of tempura, so they do not burn and leave a bad flavour in the oil. are crunchy bits of Deep fried flour- Dough used in Japanese cuisine, for example in Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and Udon A small mesh scoop is used for this purpose. Tenkasu are often reserved as ingredients in other dishes or as a topping.

Ingredients

Common ingredients in traditional tempura include:

• Seafood: Prawn, Shrimp, squid, scallop, anago (conger eel), ayu (sweetfish), crab, and a wide variety of fish
• Vegetables: bell pepper, kabocha squash, eggplant, carrot, burdock, green beans, sweet potato, yam, potato, renkon (lotus root), shiitake mushroom, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, okra. Prawns are Crustaceans belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata   True shrimp are swimming decapod Crustaceans classified in the Infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species A scallop (ˈskɒləp or /ˈskæləp/ is a marine Bivalve Mollusk of the family Pectinidae. For the business syndicate see Conger (syndicate. For the dance see Conga Line Conger is a genus of The ayu (アユ 鮎(香魚 or sweetfish, Plecoglossus altivelis, is an amphidromous Fish, the only Species in The ayu (アユ 鮎(香魚 or sweetfish, Plecoglossus altivelis, is an amphidromous Fish, the only Species in Crabs are decapod Crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (βραχύ / brachy Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two "Green pepper" redirects here For green peppercorns see Black pepper. Kabocha (katakana カボチャ is a Japanese variety of Winter squash. The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal ( Solanum melongena) is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades The carrot ( Daucus carota subsp sativus, Etymology: Middle French carotte, from Late Latin carōta, from Greek karōton Greater burdock, Edible burdock, or Lappa Burdock is a Biennial plant of the Arctium ( Burdock) Genus in the Asteraceae Green beans ( American English) or French beans ( British English) also called squeaky beans are the unripe Fruits of any kind of Bean The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Nelumbo is a Genus of aquatic plants with large showy Water lily -like flowers commonly known as Lotus or sacred lotus The shiitake ( Lentinula edodes) is an Edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries as well as being dried A mushroom is the fleshy Spore -bearing Fruiting body of a Fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily Okra ( American English:, British English,) also known as lady's finger, bhindi ( Hindustani) and gumbo, is a

Nearly any food may be used so long as it does not release water into the batter before or during frying. Rice and other cereals, processed foods such as tofu, and watery foods such as cabbage and fruit are generally not used, although some versions of agedashi dofu resemble tempura. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Tofu, also (the Japanese Romaji spelling doufu (the Chinese Pinyin spelling often used in Chinese recipes or bean curd (the literal The cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var capitata) is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae used as a The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. Agedashi tofu (or agedashi dofu, 揚げ出し豆腐 Agedashi dōfu, often shortened to age tofu or age dofu) is a Japanese

Serving and presentation

Cooked bits of tempura are either eaten alone with dipping sauce or used to assemble other dishes. Tempura is commonly served with grated daikon and eaten hot immediately after frying. (from Japanese daikon (大根 literally "large root" is a mild-flavored East Asian giant white Radish. The most common sauce is tentsuyu sauce (roughly three parts dashi, one part mirin, and one part shoyu). Tentsuyu ( Japanese: てんつゆ/天汁 is Japanese Tempura Dipping sauce. Dashi ( 出[[wiktionary 汁|汁]] だし is a class of soup and cooking stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. is an essential Condiment used in Japanese cuisine, consisting of 40%–50% sugar Soy sauce ( US) soya sauce ( Commonwealth) shoyu ( Japan) or sillao ( Peru) is a fermented Sauce Alternatively, tempura may be sprinkled with sea salt before eating. Sea salt, obtained by evaporating Seawater, is used in Cooking and Cosmetics. Mixtures of powdered green tea and salt or yuzu and salt are also used. is a variety of fine powdered Green tea used particularly in the Japanese tea ceremony, as well as to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and Soba noodles The yuzu ( Citrus ichangensis x C reticulata, formerly C junos Siebold ex

Kakiage is a type of tempura made with mixed vegetable strips, such as onion, carrot, and burdock, and sometimes including shrimp, which are deep fried as small round fritters. True shrimp are swimming decapod Crustaceans classified in the Infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and Deep fried.

Tempura is also used in combination with other foods. When served over soba (buckwheat noodles), it is called tempura soba or tensoba. is a type of thin Japanese Noodle made from Buckwheat flour It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce or in hot broth as a Noodle soup. Tensoba, or Tempura Soba is a dish of soba noodles and Tempura served in a hot dark broth made from Dashi, Soy sauce, and other ingredients Tempura is also served as a donburi dish where tempura shrimp and vegetables are served over steamed rice in a bowl (tendon) and on top of udon soup (Tempura Udon). Donburi ( Kanji: 丼; hiragana どんぶり, lit "bowl" also frequently abbreviated as "don" thus less commonly spelled is a type of thick Wheat -based Noodle popular in Japanese cuisine.

History and variations

Tempura was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by early Portuguese^[1] and Spanish missionaries and traders. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[2] The word tempura may be derived from the Portuguese noun tempero, meaning a condiment or seasoning, or from the verb temperar, meaning "to season". Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. ^[2] There is still today a dish in Portugal very similar to tempura called peixinhos da horta, "garden fishies". Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. An alternative explanation for the word is that it is derived from 'tempora', a Latin word meaning "times", "time period" used by either Spanish or Portuguese missionaries to refer to the Lenten period (ad tempora quadragesimae) where they could not eat meat. For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. ^[3]

It is thought that as the term "tempura" gained popularity in southern Japan, it became widely used to refer to any sort of food prepared using hot oil, including some already existing Japanese foods. Today, the word "tempura" is also commonly used to refer to satsuma age, a fried fish cake which is made without batter. is a fried fish cake from Kagoshima, Japan. Pounded white fish meat and flour is mixed to make a compact paste that is solidified through frying

In Japan, restaurants specializing in tempura are called tenpura-ya and range from inexpensive fast food chains to very expensive five-star restaurants. A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly Chain stores are Retail outlets that share a Brand and central management and usually have standardized business methods and practices Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or a bento (lunch box), and it is also a popular ingredient in take-out or convenience store bento boxes. is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine.

Tempura (particularly shrimp) is often used a filling in maki zushi. A more recent variation of tempura sushi has entire pieces of sushi being dipped in batter and tempura-fried. The ingredients and styles of cooking and serving tempura vary greatly through the country, with importance being placed on using fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Outside Japan, restaurants sometimes use broccoli, zucchini and asparagus. Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae Zucchini ( in North American and Australian English) or courgette (/kʊǝrˈʒɛt/ or in New Zealand and British English Asparagus officinalis is a flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus from which the Vegetable known as asparagus is obtained There are many non-traditional and fusion uses of tempura. Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any Chefs over the world include tempura dishes on their menus, and a wide variety of different batters and ingredients are used. Variations include using panko or corn flour, however, the consistency is crisper using panko as opposed to tempura batter, and frying unusual ingredients such as nori slices, non-watery fruit such as banana, and ice cream. is a variety of Breadcrumb from Japanese cuisine and French cuisine used to create a crunchy coating for fried foods such as Tonkatsu Nori (海苔 ( 김 kim or gim) is the Japanese name for various edible Seaweed species of the Red alga Porphyra For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. Ice cream or ice-cream (originally iced cream) is a frozen dessert made from Dairy products such as Milk and Cream, combined

In northern Taiwan, tempura is also known as 天婦羅 or 甜不辣 (tianbula) and can be found at night markets such as Shilin Night Market and Keelung Temple Night Market, where it is famous. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. Night markets or night bazaars are Street markets operating at night mainly in urban or Suburban areas that are generally dedicated to more leisurely The Shilin Night Market is a Night market in the Shilin District of Taipei City, Taiwan, often considered to be the largest and most famous The ingredients and method used for making Taiwanese tempura are completely different from Japanese tempura, and they share only the name. In southern Taiwan, however, it is known as 黒輪 or 和田 and is more the counterpart to oden. Oden (ja-Hira おでん is a Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, Daikon radish Konnyaku, and processed Oden is generally known as 關東煮 or "Kwantung cooking" in reference to the Kwantung (Kantō) region of Japan. The is a Geographical area of Honshū, the largest Island of Japan.

See also

• Japanese words from Portuguese
• Tonkatsu, a Japanese deep fried pork cutlet
• Pakora, an Indian food resembling tempura

References

External links

• Tempura recipe and how-to

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