Tensoba, or tempura soba, is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

dish of soba noodles and

tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ''tem ...

Overview

There are two varieties of tensoba: one is served with a hot broth of and

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

; the other is served with cooled soba and dipped in (), either chilled or hot and usually strongly flavored. The dipping variety is also called or , depending on the soba shop or stand. Like , tensoba uses many kind of vegetable or seafood tempura, or (, using a mixture of vegetable or seafood bits).

History

Tensoba originated during the mid-Edo-period. It was first eaten as a hot broth soba with , using the adductor muscles of surf clams. At that time, shrimp-tempura soba was more expensive than other ingredients. So, shrimp-tempura-soba is also called () or .

Regional variety

There are some regional varieties for tensoba toppings. In

Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

and

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, the soba shops often use (fried fish cake) or for tempura. These two fish cakes are sometimes batter-fried.

References

Japanese noodle dishes {{Japan-cuisine-stub