Peixinhos da horta is usually made with green beans, battered and deep-fried like small vegetable “fish.”
The Portuguese dish is named “little fish from the vegetable garden” because its battered pieces resemble small colorful fish. It is traditionally prepared with green beans, although bell peppers and squash can also appear in variations.
The dish is closely linked to tempura’s origin story. Portuguese sailors brought this style of flour-battering and frying to Japan in the 16th century, where it was adapted into tempura. The connection does not mean modern tempura and peixinhos da horta are identical: Japanese tempura uses a lighter batter and commonly features seafood as well as vegetables.
A common mix-up is assuming that any battered vegetable is the defining ingredient. Green beans are the usual traditional choice, while other vegetables are alternatives rather than the canonical answer.