AROUND the world, tempura is known and loved as an iconic element of Japanese cuisine as many love the battered, deep-fried prawns, fish and vegetables.
That said, it has been repeatedly claimed in books, magazines and websites that this dish was actually introduced to Japan by the Portuguese as they made their way through Asia.
Is there any truth to this?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Yes, the roots of tempura lie in a Portugese dish called " peixinhos da horta" which means "the little fish of the garden".
As Epicurious writer Rafael Tonton explains, this dish emerged from the Catholic prohibition on eating meat during the period of Lent.
"Made mainly with green or Romano beans, the dish calls for colourful vegetables that are dipped in batter and deep-fried until they resemble pieces of tiny fish such as sardines and horse mackerel, which are traditionally battered and fried in Portugal," writes Tonton.
He added that further clues to the Portuguese origin of tempura could lie in its name, writing that the Latin word "tempora," as Ember Days or Catholic periods of fasting, abstinence, and prayer were known as "quatuor tempora".
In this regard, some historians believe that this East-meets-West contact was also the introduction of deep frying as a cooking technique to Japan, with Tonton citing gastronomic researcher Virgílio Nogueira Gomes when it comes to this point.
When it comes to this, Gomes – the author of "À Portuguesa-Receitas em livros estrangeiros até 1900" or "Portuguese-style recipes in foreign books until 1900" – says that deep-frying as a cooking technique was also not recorded in Angola and Brazil until the arrival of the Portuguese.
As for how the first Europeans set foot in Japan, this was all by chance in 1543 when a Macau-bound ship was swept off course with three Portuguese men on board.
This then led to a period of trade that ended in 1639 when the Shogun at the time declared Christianity to be a threat to Japan.
All said and done, tempura has had quite the journey from a fast-day dish to a delicacy loved the world over.
SOURCES:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/
https://guide.michelin.com/hk/
