Tempura is a classic dish of Portuguese cuisine and exported to Japan which popularized it.
It consists of fried pieces of vegetables or seafood wrapped in a thin batter. The frying is done in very hot oil, for only about two or three minutes.
The tempura recipe was introduced to Japan by active Portuguese missionaries, particularly in the city of
Nagasaki, also founded by the Portuguese, during the 16th century.
A dish in Portugal very similar to tempura is the peixinhos da horta, which consist of pieces of
fried green beans wrapped in a batter usually thicker than tempura.