The origins of tempura go way back to the 15th Century when Portuguese traders first introduced their cuisine & later combined it with Japanese & Chinese dishes, creating Tempura. The word 'Tempura' is said to be a corruption of the Portuguese word 'Temporo' which means 'cooking'. Being considered an ethnic dish, it did not gain popularity until the Edo Period - 17th Century - when street vendors started selling it. Now it is considered as one of the national dishes of Japan.

Ingredients:

· Tempura batter mix
· Tempura dipping sauce
· Prawn: raw and large
· Seafood: almost everything is possible
· Vegetables: pumpkin, carot, sweet potato and eggplant.
· Mushrooms
· These ingredients may not be available in Western supermarkets, but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in Barcelona.

Preparation:
1. Prawn: Remove the head and the shell. Make little cuts on the inside of the curved prawn.
2. Cut the vegetables in small pieces.
3. You can use whole mushrooms.
4. Mixtures: Cut various ingredients in small pieces and mix them together: green onion, prawn and carots.
5. Mix Tempura flour with the amount of water described on the package. Do not mix it completely, but leave some small lumps in it.
6. Cover all the ingredients completely with the batter. Add the batter and fry it together.
7. Deep fry at 180 degrees Celsius. Be careful, and do not use wet ingredients because the water would react strongly with the hot oil, which may harm your skin or eyes.
8. When the Tempura pieces are beautifully golden, take them out, and try to remove as much oil as possible.
Serving and eating:
There are a few different ways to serve Tempura. Here are two of them:
· Serve the Tempura pieces on a plate, and prepare some bowls with Tempura dipping sauce.
· Tendon (Tempura Donburi): Put the pieces in Tempura dipping sauce, remove them, and put them on top of cooked rice in a bowl. (One bowl per person)

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