Cooking Shellfish
The word "tempura", or the technique of dipping fish and vegetables into a batter and frying them, comes from the word "tempora", a Latin word meaning "times", "time period" used by both Spanish and Portuguese missionaries to refer to the Lenten period or Ember Days (ad tempora quadragesimae), Fridays, and other Christian holy days. Ember Days or quattuor tempora refer to holy days when Catholics avoid meat and instead eat fish or vegetables.[citation needed] The idea that the word "tempura" may have been derived from the Portuguese noun tempero, meaning a spicy condiment or peppery seasoning, or from the verb temperar, meaning "to season" has not been substantiated. However, the Japanese language could easily have assumed the word "tempero" as is, without changing any vowels as both languages are phonetically similar.There is still today a dish in Portugal very similar to tempura called peixinhos da horta, "garden fishies."It is also possible that the Portuguese picked the technique up from Goa which was their colony in India and this could very well be a variation of the 'pakora'.The term "tempura" is thought to have gained popularity in southern Japan; it became widely used to refer to any sort of food prepared using hot oil, including some already existing Japanese foods. Today, the word "tempura" is also commonly used to refer to satsuma age, a fried fish cake which is made without batter.
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