Seasonal ingredients such as seafood, vegetables, and mushrooms are wrapped in a batter made from wheat flour, eggs, and water, and fried in cooking oil. This is one of the typical Japanese dishes.
Eat freshly fried tempura in Tentsuyu soup or with a small amount of salt.
Tempura is a difficult dish to make, and the taste depends on the skill of the cook.
You can buy it at a delicatessen section of a food supermarket, but you had better eat freshly fried tempuras at a Japanese restaurant or a tempura specialty store.
What is Tempura and can I eat it?
Materials of Tempura
Seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, wheat flour, egg
| Low-gluten | ||||
| with Egg |
| Restaurant | Food supermarket |
Tempura uses various ingredients
The seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, etc., the ingredients of tempura are called “Tane”.
Lightly sprinkle the Tane with flour, soak them in a liquid made from flour, eggs and water, put them in a pan with cooking oil and fry for a few minutes. It is then served on a plate lined with paper to absorb the oil.
The materials often used for Tane are as follows.
Seafood
- Frequently used … Prawn, squid, sillaginidae
- Occasionally used … Octopus, scallops, conger eels, sardines
Vegetables
- Frequently used … Eggplant, shishito(green papper), sweet potato, pumpkin, lotus root, ouba, green beans
- Occasionally used … Burdock, peppers, potatoes, onion, bitter gourd, bamboo shoots
Mushrooms and others
- Frequently used … Shiitake mushroom
- Occasionally used … Maitake, chikuwa, chicken
There are no restrictions on the Tane of tempura. If you have restrictions on what you can eat, check the Tane.
The origin of tempura comes from the Western-style fried food made from wheat flour, which was introduced by a Portuguese Catholic missionary in the 16th century, and there is a theory that the name tempura comes from the Portuguese word tempêro (= seasoning, taste). It was about 300 years ago that tempura became popular in Japan.
Tendon is a dish that you can easily eat tempura. Tendon will be introduced in detail in another article.
Tendon is a food made by placing tempura on cooked rice and sprinkling it with sweet and spicy sauce. Tempura is ofte[…]
Try to eat Tempura!
How much ?
- $12～30 at a Japanese restaurant or a tempura specialty store
- $3～5 at a delicatessen section of food supermarket
Where can I eat Tempura ?
We recommend that you eat freshly fried tempura at a Japanese restaurant or a tempura specialty store because the taste depends on the skill of the cook.
Food additives are used in tempura sold at food supermarkets so that the taste does not deteriorate over time.
Precautions when eating Tempura
For Muslims
Tempura does not use pork, so you can eat it with confidence. However, a small amount of alcohol may be used in the process of making Tentsuyu soup. Alcohol evaporates and does not remain in the Tentsuyu soup, but if you are concerned, eat tempura with salt.
For Jewish
The ingredients used for tempura that do not fall under Kosher are as follows;
Prawn, squid, conger eel, octopus, and scallop
Please have them removed when ordering.
For Vegetalian and Pescetarian
If you are a vegetarian, please ask not to include seafood when ordering. Some kind restaurants will change them to vegetables. Pescetarians who tolerate eggs can eat tempura with confidence.
Japanese writer’s comment for Tempura
Tempura is often eaten at home, but because it takes time to prepare and clean up, and the kitchen gets dirty with oil during cooking, more people buy it at a delicatessen section of a food supermarket instead of making it at home.
This tempura can be eaten deliciously by heating it in the microwave. Various food additives are used just to allow them to be stored for a long time. It’s a little different from the original tempura, so it’s not very tasty. I don’t recommend it.
For those who think that restaurant tempura is too expensive, there is a cheap way to eat tempura. This is Tendon that we will introduce in another article. The price is reasonable at $ 4-8.
