National Tempura Day in USA

Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The recipe for tempura was introduced to Japan by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries particularly active in the city of Nagasaki also founded by the Portuguese, during the sixteenth century (1549).

The concept of batter frying was brought by the Portuguese, along with Catholicism. The word “Tempura” derived from the Latin word of “Tempora”, which refers to “The Ember Days (quattuor anni tempora)”, when Catholics refrain from eating meat.

The original dish has disappeared, but it was a meal meant for Lent, when many Christian denominations are forbidden to eat meat. In fact, the name tempura comes from the Latin ad tempora cuaresme, which means 'in the time of Lent.