"Amidst the plethora of dishes unique to Japanese cuisine, there are many that have found their way abroad to delight the palates of diners around the world. While perhaps not the dish or technique that has reached the largest audience, tempura is a universally-adored Japanese food. A bit of digging into the history of the food, however, reveals that its origins actually only date back a few hundred years and come from a culinary crossover with a country you might not expect: Portugal."
"In the mid-1500s, a Chinese ship bound for Macau with three Portuguese sailors on board ended up landing instead on the Japanese island of Tanegashima. This was the first contact between Japan and Europe. The sailors established a trading post there, opening the door to significant exchange of both culture and physical goods. In addition to bringing things like firearms and tobacco to Japan, the Portuguese also introduced them to the culinary technique of battering and deep frying."
Tempura traces its origins to a few hundred years ago when Portuguese culinary techniques reached Japan. In the mid-1500s three Portuguese sailors arrived on Tanegashima, marking first sustained contact between Japan and Europe and establishing a trading post. The Portuguese introduced goods such as firearms and tobacco and also the technique of battering and deep frying. The Portuguese dish peixinhos da horta—vegetables dipped in thin batter and fried to resemble small fish—served as the model for tempura. Given Japan's seafood traditions, the battering-and-frying method adapted to both fish and vegetables. Records loss after Jesuit expulsion leaves the word origin debated.
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