What Portuguese dish is described as an ancestor of Japanese tempura?

Peixinhos da horta is the Portuguese dish described as an ancestor of Japanese tempura.

The name literally means “little fish from the garden,” a playful reference to the fried green-bean pieces’ fish-like appearance. The dish is traditionally made by coating green beans in a wheat-flour batter and deep-frying them; peppers, squash, and other vegetables can also be used.

Portuguese sailors and missionaries brought related batter-frying techniques to Japan during the sixteenth century. One frequently cited link is the dish’s use during Lent or Ember Days, when Catholics avoided meat and ate fish or vegetables instead. In Japan, the method was adapted into tempura, with regional ingredients, a lighter batter, and distinctive dipping sauces.

The relationship is historical rather than an assertion that modern tempura is identical to peixinhos da horta. Japanese cooks transformed the imported technique, and tempura later became a defining part of Japanese cuisine. The word tempura itself may derive from Latin tempora, connected with Christian fasting periods, although Portuguese-language alternatives such as tempero and temperar are also discussed.