Definition

Noun: 1. A Japanese dish consisting of seafood or vegetables that have been coated in a light batter and deep-fried until crisp. The batter is typically made from cold water, flour, and sometimes egg, resulting in a characteristically delicate and airy coating.

Usage

• As a direct object: The word "tempura" is typically used as a mass noun to refer to the dish in general or a specific serving of it.
  • We ordered shrimp tempura and vegetable tempura for the table.
  • The secret to good tempura is using very cold batter.
• As a modifier: "Tempura" is often used attributively to describe other nouns related to the dish.
  • She makes a delicious tempura sauce for dipping.
  • The restaurant specializes in tempura dishes.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• In culinary contexts: The term is used precisely to denote the specific Japanese frying technique and the resulting product. It is not a general term for any fried food.
  • The chef demonstrated the traditional tempura frying method, emphasizing quick cooking in hot oil.

Variants and Related Words

• Tempura-batter (noun): The specific light batter used for making tempura.
  • The tempura-batter should be lumpy and cold.
• Tempura-style (adjective): Prepared in a manner similar to tempura, though not necessarily authentic.
  • They served tempura-style green beans as an appetizer.

Synonyms

• Fritter: A piece of food coated in batter and deep-fried. (Note: A fritter often has a denser batter and the filling is usually mixed the batter, whereas tempura ingredients are dipped and coated.)
• Kakiage: A specific type of tempura where small pieces of ingredients (like shrimp or vegetables) are mixed together in the batter and fried as a patty.

Idioms and Phrases

(No common idioms or phrasal verbs are directly formed from the noun "tempura." It is primarily a culinary term.)

Noun

1. vegetables and seafood dipped in batter and deep-fried