Today, January 7th, is National Tempura Day.

Tempura is a dish that is strongly associated with Japanese cuisine, even though it was introduced there by the Portuguese.

It is seafood and vegetables that have been battered and then deep fried.

The batter is a very light one. It's made from cold, sometimes sparkling, water and soft wheat flour, possibly with other ingredients added. After the food to be fried is dipped in the batter, it is then briefly deep fried.

Tempura is quite different to other types of deep fried food.

Image: Morguefile