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Coming from a country whose cuisines are very unique and usually mysterious to western audiences, Tempura is really a surprisingly western style dish for Japanese food, though not without its distinctive charms. Tempura is simply any of a variety of seafoods – fish, shellfish, and cephalopods – and vegetables that have been doused in tempura batter and deep fried. Tempura batte itself is really a simple affair, made up mostly of cold water and soft wheat flower.

Sometimes starch, eggs, baking soda or powder, oils, or spices may also be added to alter the texture, consistency, and taste of the batter. It is then typically whisked for a brief period of time, perhaps only a few seconds – just enough to mix the ingredients – with a small instrument, normally chop sticks. Contrary to other, typically a lot more viscous batters used in deep frying, tempura batter is intentionally allowed to maintain a lumpy consistency. Between this and the consistently cold temperature of the batter, the end result is that tempura batter is normally fluffier.

Otherwise, too high a temperature or too vigorous whisking will release gluten from the wheat flour which will give the batter a tougher, doughier consistency that is undesirable. Special flour is also available for the making of tempura batter that will not release gluten under these circumstances, essentially making the batter failure proof.

After tempura batter has been prepared, small, thin strips of vegetables and seafoods are dipped in the matter and fried for a short period. Usual seafoods are shrimp, scallops, squid, crab, and a number of fishes, which are also fried along with vegetables like peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, and different species of squashes.

Canola or vegetable oil are both sufficient for frying, but traditional preparation demands that the ingredients dipped in tempura batter be fried in either sesame seed or tea seed oil. This should impart a much more authentic flavor, and purists suggest that use of these oils results in a lighter, fluffier, crispier tempura batter after it’s been fried. Also in contrast to American cuisine, great care is taken not to overcook the battered ingredients, lest their flavor be polluted. Measures are also taken to assure that lumps of tempura batter do not remain floating in the oil after ingredients have been fried.

This is to prevent the batter from becoming overfried in the oil and burning, leaving a bad taste in the oil that can in turn ruin ingredients yet to be fried. These lumps of tempura batter even have their own name, Tenkasu, and are themselves used as ingredients or as toppings in other dishes. Tempura is usually eaten almost immediately right after frying. There are a variety of sauces that are traditionally utilized, where pieces are dipped using chop sticks. Other additives like sea salt and powdered green tea leaves are also common.