Tenkasu

Close up of tenkasu.

tanuki-soba

Tenkasu (天かす, lit. "tempura refuse") are crunchy bits of deep fried flour-batter used in Japanese cuisine for example in soba, udon, takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Hot plain soba and udon adding tenkasu are called tanuki-soba and tanuki-udon (haikara-soba and haikara-udon in Kansai region), in the same manner of calling soba and udon topped with aburage kitsune; some cite tanukis and their relation with wealth, and hence, gold, as an inspiration, others cite how the added purchase of an extra sumptuous but cheap filling is akin to a tanuki's wits and tricks.

It is also called agedama (揚げ玉, literally "fried ball"). According to the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 68% Japanese called it tenkasu and 29% called it agedama in 2003. Tenkasu is more common in western Japan and agedama is more common in eastern Japan.

See also

• Scraps (batter)
• Youtiao
• Fried dough
• Fried dough foods