Does this popular Japanese dish have its origins in Portugal?

When you talk about Japanese cuisine, perhaps the two most popular dishes that come to your mind are sushi and tempura. Crispy fried prawns dunked in mayo or soya sauce and eaten forming a crunch, is one of the most loved Japanese dishes. But did you know that the dish that defines Japanese cuisine may not have originated from the country itself? Just like several cuisines which originated somewhere else but got adopted and was re-invented to become popular in a different place, tempura is one of them. And guess which country it came down from?

How did Tempura get its modern-day form?

It is said that around the 1500s, Portuguese missionaries came to Japan and they brought the European- style batter with them. This became popular while frying meat, fish or vegetables. For Japan, which was used to pan-frying, simmering, steaming or even grilling methods, batter-frying was a new horizon to explore in the culinary world. Thus, they observed, practised and modified this batter to make their own dishes.

Japanese batter v/s Portuguese counterpart

As the Japanese cooks learnt and re-invented this Portuguese gift, they made additions to the original batter. Their light batter consistency, often seasoned, with reduced gluten and use of sesame oil made it stand out. They used this batter to fry local seafood and vegetables. But what made the world know tempura as a primarily Japanese dish was when it became popular during the Edo period. This was a time when tempura had a Japanese batter, was made with local Japanese ingredients and was very popular on the streets of Japan.

This led to the spotlight come on Japan as the place of origin for the cuisine while it may not be the place or origin for the technique. To make it simpler for understanding, this meant that tempura became a Portuguese-inspired Japanese dish rather than a Portuguese dish eaten in Japan. Interestingly, experts who have tastes tempura in Japan and batter- fried foods in Portugal can vouch that both dishes are very different and don’t have any similarities whatsoever. Thus, next time you visit a Japanese restaurant and take a bite from the freshly fried tempura, remember where it comes from and its rich legacy before it ended up in your plate.  

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