Tempura a Japanese dish from Portugal. Tempura is made of pieces of various seafood, fish, vegetables and mushrooms, coated in a light dough made of wheat flour and deep-fried. Check how to make tempura.
Tempurais extremely popular in Japan, both among locals and tourists. However, it is not a native Japanese dish. It came from Portugal in the 16th century with three seamen. In 1543, a Chinese ship with Portuguese on board went to Macau, but was swept off course to Tanegashima, Japan.
Then the first Europeans stood on Japanese soil. They were Antoni da Mota, Francisco Zeimoto and Antonio Peixoto. The Japanese during the Civil War began to trade with the Portuguese, which over time also led to an exchange of recipes. The Portuguese coming to Japan very often prepared a dish called peixinhos da horta, i.e. deep-fried stringy beans in breadcrumbs. It was this dish that inspired the Japanese tempura.
The word tempura comes from the Latin "tempora" which refers to the fasting time in the Christian religion. During fasting periods, when eating meat was forbidden, dough-fried beans were a substitute for it. This dish was popular with sailors sailing to distant destinations because it allowed them to extend the shelf life of vegetables. Frying was a form of food preservation.
Before the Portuguese arrived on the island, its inhabitants also deep-fried vegetables, but without any breadcrumbs. The Japanese have perfected the tempura dough and use many other ingredients, not just beans. However, the dish comes from Portuguese cuisine. Interestingly, tempura has grown so much in Japanese cuisine that some residents of the Land of the Rising Sun have no idea that it is not native to Japan.
Tempura - what is it?
Tempura is basically a way of preparing food. Because in tempura you can prepare many different foods. They are pieces of various seafood, fish, vegetables and mushrooms, coated in a light dough made of wheat flour and deep-fried.
The temperature of the dough is very important to ensure that the fried pieces are crispy and firm. There must be a cakeicy. The temperature of the oil is also very important and should be around 170 degrees C. The oils used to fry tempura are:
- sesame oil
- cottonseed oil
- rice oil
Vegetables and seafood fried in tempura are crispy, light, full of flavor and aroma. What ingredients go to tempura? Most often they are shrimp and squids, but also pieces of fish.
You can fry various vegetables in tempura, incl. broccoli, peppers, zucchini, eggplants, green beans, pumpkin, asparagus and shiitake mushrooms, kinoko and others. The Japanese are very precise in the kitchen, including the preparation of tempura. All pieces that are dough-dipped and fried are cut to a similar size.
This makes the crunchy morsels to the same degree. Among the tempura masters, it is unacceptable for individual pieces to be undercooked or overcooked.
The key ingredient in tempura is the batter in which the pieces are dipped before frying. It has the consistency of a pancake dough and may contain lumps of flour. They are desirable.
The base breading recipe consists of ice water, wheat flour and egg yolk. However, it can be modified in many ways by adding sparkling water, baking soda, corn or potato starch (which make it easier to obtain the right crunchiness).
The batter must be freshly prepared and very cold to get the right effect. The low temperature and short contact time with water prevent the activation of gluten in the wheat flour and prevent the rubbery texture of the tempura. The dough should also be well aired, with lots of air bubbles. If it settles in the pan and it becomes flat, you need to prepare a new one.
Currently, tempura is served in Japan both in elegant restaurants and in street booths. Restaurants that specialize in tempura are called "tempura-ya". However, it can be found in practically every Japanese gastronomic establishment and at the same time it is one of the most popular Japanese street food dishes. There are two main styles of Japanese tempura - Kanto and Kansai.
In the Kanto region, seafood and vegetables are fried in tempura. Sesame oil is used for this purpose, and crispy snacks are served with a special sauce based on dashi broth and soy sauce. In the Kansai region, the most common are tempura vegetables fried in neutral tasting oil and served with s alt, pepper or nori seaweed. Tempura is also served with ponzu, a citrus soy sauce and grated white radish.
Tempura can be eaten assnack dipped in sauce. It can also be a complete dish when served with rice, buckwheat or udon noodles. The rice is placed in the center of the plate and served with freshly fried tempura. The noodles can be served hot in a broth or cold in a traditional bamboo basket.
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Tempura - how to prepare it?
The preparation of tempura consists of three elements: cutting the selected ingredients into equal pieces, making the sauce and preparing the batter. Proceed in this order during cooking. It is very important to mix the ingredients of the dough just a moment before frying.
- Cake: 1 egg yolk, 1 cup ice water, 1 cup wheat flour
Lightly beat the yolk, mix with water. Sift the flour through a sieve. Gradually add to the egg water. You don't need to mix until smooth. Lumps are welcome.
- Sauce: 1.5 cups dashi broth, 4 tablespoons mirin rice wine, 4 tablespoons soy sauce
Boil the mirim, add the dashi broth and soy sauce. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and set aside.
- Frying
Heat the oil in a pot to 170 degrees C. Roll all the previously prepared and chopped ingredients in a dough. Fry the pieces one at a time until they are slightly golden. Start by frying vegetables, then fry the mushrooms, then fry the seafood and fish. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon or long chopsticks. Drain on a paper towel. Serve hot.
Tempura preparation - tips
- Leave the prawns with their tails, cut the front of them 2-3 times to prevent them from curling
- Fry the mushrooms without stalks
- Dry the ingredients with a paper towel before frying and sprinkle with flour
- The cake temperature must be as low as possible. During frying, you can put 2-3 ice cubes into it so that it does not overheat
- How to recognize the oil temperature? By throwing a drop of dough into it. At a temperature of 160 degrees C, the dough falls to the bottom of the pot and slowly rises to the surface of the oil. At a temperature of 170 degrees C, a drop of dough is half submerged and floats to the surface. At a temperature of 180 degrees C, the dough is fried on the surface of the oil and does not fall off.
Tempura - is she he althy?
Tempura is a dish fried indeep fat, so it is not the he althiest and easily digestible. At the same time, it is made from fresh, high-quality ingredients, and the vegetables and seafood used in its preparation are very he althy. So a small amount of tempura every now and then shouldn't hurt anyone.