Tempura is a deep-fried dish that the Japanese have made for centuries. When did it originate? Let us find out through the history of National Tempura Day!
Learn about National Tempura Day
On National Tempura Day, we are encouraged to enjoy any sort of dish that has been made with tempura batter. This is a Japanese fare, with most people tucking into delicious Tempura prawns on this date! However, there are many things you can deep-fry in this batter. Seafood and vegetables are the most popular, yet there’s nothing stopping you from having Tempura chicken. We are sure that there are plenty of unique concoctions you can come up with as well. Deep-fried Mars bars are popular, so what about a Tempura version?
Tempura is a traditional Japanese dish. It was introduced in the 16th century by the Portuguese that were living in Nagasaki at the time. They used fritter-cooking to achieve the light batter. The batter typically consists of soft wheat flour, for example, all-purpose flour, pastry flour, or cake flour, which is combined with iced water. Some people prefer to use sparkling water to keep the batter light.
A lot of people will also add spices, oil, starch, baking powder or baking soda, and/or eggs, especially the egg yolk. Traditionally, this batter is mixed in small batches. Chopsticks are used to mix the batter, and it is only mixed minimally, i.e. for a few seconds. Any lumps are left in the mixture, and this – along with the cold temperature – is how the crisp and unique fluffy tempura structure is created when cooking.
Cooked tempura pieces tend to be either salted and eaten as they are or they are presented with a dipping sauce. Tentsuyu sauce is the most common sauce to enjoy with this batter. A lot of people serve it with grated daikon, which is a mild-flavored winter radish, and they eat it straight after it has been fried. You will also find that tempura is typically found in udon soup or bowls of soba in Japan, typically in the form of a fritter, shiso leaf, or shrimp.
It is also not uncommon for tempura to be used in combination with other foods. So, if you want to cook a tempura-inspired meal for National Tempura Day, there are plenty of main dishes for you to consider. As mentioned, you can add tempura to the top of udon soup. It is also typically served as part of a donburi dish, which is where vegetables and tempura shrimp are served over a bowl of steamed rice. You could also make a bowl of tempura soba, which is essentially tempura that is served on top of buckwheat noodles. Or, how about making your very own creation?
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