Today’s Spotlight is on Tempura.

Tempura is a Japanese dish that involves lightly battering and deep-frying food. Tempura typically consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried. The batter is typically made from flour, egg, and water. The food is often seafood, vegetables, or chicken.

Tempura is known for its light batter, which is airy, crunchy, and not very oily. It’s often served over rice or noodles. The batter is traditionally made from: Flour, Egg yolks, Cold water. Some more modern takes on the batter include Starches, Baking soda, Spices. Different regions have their own ways of making the batter.

There are two main styles of tempura: Kanto style and Kansai style. The Kanto style uses both seafood and vegetables and is fried in sesame oil. The Kansai style uses different ingredients and is served with different condiments.

Some common types of Tempura include:

• Ebi (shrimp, Kakiage, Egg, Vegetable, Shiso, Sakana, White fish, Chikuwa, Chicken, Nasu (eggplant, Kabocha (Japanese winter squash, Shiitake (mushroom, Ayu, Maitake, Fugu, Okra.

 

Tempura has a light, crispy texture and a delicate, slightly savory flavor. The batter is light and slightly sweet. Tempura shrimp has a sweet and gently nutty flavor. Vegetable tempura has a mild, savory, and a little sweet flavor. Tempura is usually served with a sweet and savory dipping sauce made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.

 

 

History

Tempura was introduced to Japan in the 16th century by Portuguese Catholic missionaries in Nagasaki. The original dish was meant to be eaten during Lent, when many Christians give up meat. The Portuguese brought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and then frying them. The frying technique was most likely borrowed from Portuguese merchants. The Portuguese word for “seasoning” is “tempero”.

Tempura first appeared in the port city of Nagasaki. Tempura became a staple of Japanese cuisine during the Edo period (1603-1868). Chefs began experimenting with different ingredients and styles. Tempura was considered a luxury food and was only served in high-end restaurants. The mainstream of tempura recipes in Japan today originates from “Tokyo style (Edo style)” tempura, invented at the food stalls along the riverside fish market in the Edo period.

 

 

The word “tempura” comes from the Latin term “ad tempora cuaresme,” which means “in the time of Lent”. Tempura has become a popular dish both inside and outside of Japan.

Tempura is popular in Japan because it’s a staple of Japanese cuisine. It’s served in many restaurants across the country. It can be served as a main dish, side dish, or as a topping for tendon rice bowls, or udon and soba noodle dishes.

 

Here are some fun facts about tempura:

• Tempura is a healthier alternative to most fry batters. It uses less oil for frying, which creates less grease than other methods. It also has a relatively high protein content.
• Tempura that doesn’t use seafood is called shojinage.
• The dish comes from a Portuguese dish called peixinhos da horta, which was brought to Japan by Portuguese sailors in the mid-sixteenth century.
• The main reason tempura became popular was the abundance of seafood.

Tempura is popular with foreign tourists. It’s been called one of the “Japanese food that you want to eat” and “Japanese food that was delicious”.

 

Here is a Tempura Recipe for you to try:

Ingredients:

SHRIMP AND VEGETABLES

• ½ lb shrimp peeled and deveined
• 2 c vegetables sliced evenly and prepared.

 

• TEMPURA BATTER
• ¾ c all-purpose flour
• ½ c potato starch
• 1 large egg
• ¼ c vodka chilled in the freezer
• ¾ c carbonated water chilled in the fridge

 

TETSUYA DIPPING SAUCE

• 1 c water
• 2 g dashi mix
• ¼ c soy sauce
• ¼ c mirin

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

SHRIMP AND VEGETABLES

1. Shrimp: Clean the shrimp under running water and remove the heads. Devein the shrimp. To straighten your shrimp, score very shallow (⅛ inch) cuts on the belly of the shrimp. (You can also use skewers to straighten the shrimp if you don’t want to score them). Straighten the shrimp on a plate over paper towels to dry the shrimp off.
2. Prep vegetables by washing and drying them before dunking them in the batter.
3. Kabocha: slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice the kabocha into ⅛ inch pieces.
4. Root vegetables: cut into ⅛ even slices to make sure they cook properly.
5. Eggplants: keep the top intact and make slices starting from the middle to the bottom of the vegetable. The eggplant should look like a fan.
6. Zucchini: cut the tops off and cut into lengthwise strips with a ¼ inch width.

 

TEMPURA BATTER

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, add about 2 inches of oil from the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil to 350 °F degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the flour and half of potato starch and mix thoroughly. Set aside the other half of potato starch to coat your ingredients right before dipping into the batter.
3. In another bowl, add the egg and mix in the cold vodka. Then add carbonated water.
4. Carefully, add the wet batter into the mixing bowl and use chopsticks to mix the batter in swift movements. Try to lift the bowl and move the bowl in round movements while stirring with the chopsticks. Make sure to not overmix the batter or your tempura will end up chewy. You should have some lumps in your batter. The mixing process should take no longer than one minute.
5. In a separate bowl, add ¼ cup of potato starch in a shallow bowl. Cover the shrimp & vegetables in a light layer of potato starch.
6. Frying shrimp: Holding the shrimp tail, dunk the shrimp into the batter and cover thoroughly. Carefully lower the battered shrimp into the oil. To add extra crispy tendrils of tempura, dip your hand back into the batter and drip small drops of batter onto the frying shrimp.
7. Turn the shrimp after about one to two minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp from the oil and place them over paper towels on a cooling rack.
8. Frying vegetables: Carefully lower the battered vegetables into the oil. The vegetables cook fairly quickly so make sure to watch these carefully. Root vegetables take about three minutes and other vegetables take about one to two minutes depending on their thickness. Turn the vegetables every so often so they cook properly. Remove the cooked vegetables (it should have a pale blonde color) from the oil and place them over paper towels on a cooling rack.

 

TETSUYA DIPPING SAUCE

1. In a small saucepot, add the water over medium-low heat.
2. Add the dashi mix, soy sauce, and mirin.
3. Heat until it boils for one minute and then remove from heat.
4. Serve in a small sauce dish.
5. Enjoy!

 

Here are some tips for making tempura batter:

• Use low-protein flour.
• Run the flour through a sieve.
• Use ice water to mix the flour.
• Use cold flour and egg.
• Mix very lightly.

You can also try these tips to keep tempura crispy:

• Set the fried tempura on a rack.
• Let the tempura cool completely on the rack, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

Consumption

According to Tastewise, vegetable tempura is consumed 1.17 times per year on average. Shrimp tempura is consumed 1.31 times per year on average.

Tempura is often eaten, but not every day. It’s a quick and easy addition to breakfast or dinner. Some people eat tempura with soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce at home.

 

Celebrating Tempura

National Tempura Day is celebrated annually on January 7. The holiday is celebrated by eating as much tempura as possible. Let us know in the comments your favorite kind of Tempura.