Which of these is a typical Japanese dish consisting of a food that has been battered and deep fried?
Tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat, and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese residing in Nagasaki through the fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The name "tempura" originates from the Latin phrase quatuor anni tempora, which refers to the Ember Days, during which no meat is consumed.
A light batter is made of iced water (sometimes sparkling water is used to keep the batter light) and soft wheat flour (cake, pastry or all-purpose flour). Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added. Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks for only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that, along with the cold batter temperature, result in the unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice, or by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it. Overmixing the batter will result in activation of wheat gluten, which causes the flour mixture to become soft and dough-like when fried.
Thin slices or strips of vegetables or seafood are dipped in the batter, then briefly deep-fried in hot oil. Vegetable oil or canola oil are most common; however, tempura was traditionally cooked using sesame oil. Many specialty shops still use sesame oil or tea seed oil, and it is thought certain compounds in these oils help to produce light, crispier batter.
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