Prawns, Shrimps and Scampi

Just whisper the word “tempura” to a Japanese and watch his eyes light up with pleasure. This great dish from Japan is an exciting newcomer to Western tables.

I first tasted tempura in San Francisco’s elegant Mingei-Ya, one of the most popular of the city’s restaurants, where one sits on the floor at low tables in Japanese fashion, in a serene setting of Japanese shoji screens and architectural plants. Our meal began with sashimi (Japanese raw fish with wasabi sauce), followed by tempura (large prawns dipped in batter and deep-fried with vegetables), sukiyaki (Japanese beef and vegetables sautéed to order at the table) and misu (a deliciously light-flavoured Japanese soup).