Deep-Fried Foods

There is a considerable amount of deep-frying done in the contemporary Japanese kitchen, despite the fact that oils and fats were not used in the ancient traditional cuisine. Over many centuries, Japanese cooking absorbed some Chinese and European influence, and as a result today one finds several unusual deep-fried dishes. Perhaps the most famous of these is tempura (batter-coated fried shrimp and vegetables), which originated around the sixteenth century and owes much to the Portuguese and their fried fritters.