But Tempura is the undisputed king of Japan food, shaing the honor with sukiyaki. These dishes enjoy more or less equal degree of popularity bith among the Japanese and foreighners whereas in regard to the raw slices of fish fillet, there is a decided difference in the popularity ratings between the two groups.
Tempura, the aromatic Japanese fritterm is cooked both in the family kitchen and at restaurants of all levels, including the most exclusive and expensive. Although quite a bit of mystique has been woven into it, tempura cooking is a simple affair as far as the principle goes. All one has to do is prepare a plateful of ingredients - prawns, fish fillet and vegetables sliced or cut into proper size, coat them in thin batter and fry in deep oil.
The only catch is that in order to have really good tempura, one must very carefully select the right ingredients, make batter with the right consistency, blend different kinds of oil in proper proportion and, abpve all, keep the cooking oil at an appropriate temperature. All this requires much experience and close attention.
The name "tempura" is said to have originated from the Portugese word "tempero" meaning seasoning. Another theory traces it to the Spanish word for temple - templo. The recipe, it is believed, was introduced to Japan by Christian missionaries in the 17th century.
A large variety of vegetables can be used for tempura cooking. Any fresh vegetables and small fish of the season are good for tempura but one indispensable item is the prawn. A common tempura course begins with prawn (ebi) and ends with shrimp (ebi) fried in kakiage fashion. Kakiage means a mixture of shrimp, scallop and chopped cuttlefish. Other popular fish ingredients for tempura include the sea-eel (anago), sillaginoid (kisu), flat-head fish (megochi) and whitebaits (shirauo). Fish of the season good for tempura include the sweet river trout (ayu), pond smelt (wakasagi) and goby (haze).
Among popular vegetable ingredients are shiitake mushrooms, eggplants, French beans, green peppers, honeyworts, carrots, persimmon leaves, nori (layer) chrysanthemum leaves, pumpkin and lotus roots. Vegetables of the season such as fresh bamboo shoots, young ginger roots, bracken and matsutake mushrooms are also relished very much.
Reputable tempura houses have their own formulas for blinding different kinds of oil, which they guard jealously as business secret. At tempura restaurants, the people sit in front of the frying pot, and eat the hot tempura as they are served from the pan.
As one eats one tempura as it is served from the pan, and waits for the next, it is surprising to realize how many fried fish one can eat. Tempura is loved not only by the Japanese, but also many foreigners.
There is also tendon. It is a big bowl of rice on which hot tempura are placed and specially prepared sauce. Some people prefer tendon to tempura and rice, as it has quite a different taste from ordinary tempura.
Tempura must be eaten hot, and stale tempura is not worth anything.
Peel prawns, slit small fish and cut the fillet of larger fish into bite-size. Cut or slice vegetables into proper size.
Before preparing tempura batter, turn on the cooking stove under a substituted for sesame or corn oil.
To make the tempura batter, first beat two eggs in a bowl. Add one cup of water to the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Put three cups of sifted flour into the liquid and mix quickly. Don't beat the batter too hard or it will become too heavy to make thin crispy coating.
When the cooking oil becomes hot enough (175-180 degrees Centigrade or 350 degrees Fahrenheit), slip the ingredients into the batter and slide them into the pan. Don't put too many at a time lest the temperature of the oil go down. When frying vegetables, put the harder ones first.
Wait till the surface of the ingredients turns light yellow and then turn them over. Turn a few times until the batter becomes brownish yellow. Drain the cooked tempura on the grid. Then arrange the drained fritters on the plate covered with a thick white paper napkins. This is for absorbing excess oil.
The tempura dish is served with special sauce in individual bowls. Add grated radish. Some prefer to have grated ginger in addition. Tempura can also be eaten with a pinch of salt or lemon juice instead of the sauce.
To make tempura sauce, prepare dashi or Japanese soup stock nade of dried bonito shavings and strips of tangle. Bring dashi, soy sauce and sake to a boil and serve while still warm. When in a hurry, you can season the dashi with monosodium glutamate.
While your in Japan, try a tempura bar, where the diners sample sizzling fritters while watching the chef in action.