Tempura

One of the oldest imported dishes is tempura, although it has been so thoroughly adopted that its foreign roots are unknown to most people, including many Japanese. Tempura came to Japan from Portuguese sailors in the 16th century as a technique for cooking fish. Since then, the Japanese have extended its ingredients to include almost every sort of seafood and vegetable. Shrimp, eggplant, squash, and carrots are typical ingredients today.