how to eat tempura

We’re on our way to Japan later this week, so we’ve been doing lots of research about where to eat, and what to eat. Other Huckleberry Travelers who’ve come back from Japan recently have been raving about their food experiences, so we’ve gotten super excited about what we’re going to see and do. But also about what we’re going to eat!

Cover photo licensed under Creative Commons License from Flickr User Alpha.

As part of our research, we learned something about eating tempura. Specifically, we’ve been doing it wrong all these years! It turns out that in order to eat tempura properly, there are three steps:

Step 1: Dip!

Tentsuyu is the dipping sauce. Generally tentsuyu might consist of three parts dashi, one part mirin, and one part soy sauce, but the recipe can vary. The first step, before the tempura goes in your mouth is to dip the tempura in the dipping sauce. Probably you were doing that part correctly, already.

Step 2: Touch!

Did you get a little plate or mound of salt with your tempura? Did you think that you should just sprinkle it on top of your tempura, in case it wasn’t salty enough? Did you do that? Well, if you did, you’re doing it WRONG! The proper thing to do is to touch the tempura to the salt, after it’s been dipped. If you’re at a true tempura place, you may have been given a couple of different salts. Maybe try the wasabi salt?

Step 3: Put!

You may have a little mound of shredded radish served with your tempura. That’s not a side dish. That’s for you to put on top of your tempura, once it’s been dipped and touched.

There you have it. Three simple steps. Dip in the tentsuyu. Touch to the salt. Put the radish on the tempura. That’s it. Now you’re ready to eat it! Hoo-ray!

Would you like to go on an incredible trip to Japan? Because, we can send you there, if you like! Just let us know!