Japanese food has gained a huge following outside Japan. In fact, one can surely find a Japanese restaurant that serves tempura with a sushi bar that serves nigiri sushi, makimono sushi and sashimi and in every big city around the world and, of course, in the United States, including Tampa FL. Tempura is usually the choice of those who are new to Japanese food and are not yet quite daring enough to try sushi and sashimi. Tempura is a dish of seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep fried until crisp. The seafood used could be prawns, shrimps, fish fillet, squid, scallops and crabmeat. Vegetables used could be eggplant, okra, mushrooms, sweet potato, yam, squash, bell pepper, carrot and green beans. The dipping sauce for tempura is made of dashi or broth, mirin or rice wine and shoyu or soy sauce. Sometimes, a dash of wasabi paste is added. ... [more..]

People around the world have grown to love Japanese food. This is why in every major city in almost every country, including the United States, you can easily find a Japanese restaurant or a sushi bar offering tempura, nigiri sushi, makimono sushi and sashimi. The same is true in Tampa FL. People who are not yet familiar with Japanese food are sometimes not yet bold enough to have a taste of sushi and sashimi. They usually enjoy tempura, though, in Tampa FL Japanese restaurants. Tempura can be made from either seafood or vegetables. These are coated with a special batter and deep fried to a crisp. The usual seafood for this dish include prawns, shrimps, fish fillet, squid, scallops and crabmeat while the usual vegetable include eggplant, okra, mushrooms, sweet potato, yam, squash, bell pepper, carrot and green beans. The crisp tempura is dipped into a sauce made from broth ... [more..]

There are certain rules that every hostess should follow. Many are just good ol' common sense, while others are things that might not even occur to you. Here are some of the big ones:Don't:- Bury yourself in the kitchen while you have people over. Plans sometimes get thrown off-kilter, but try your hardest to keep to a schedule so that you'll be able to give your guests as much face time as possible.- Badger people about whether or not the food's okay. Chances are no one's going to tell you if your brisket is too dry or the brownies are underbaked, anyway, and preempting the issue will make it seem like you're fishing for compliments.- Flit around from guest to guest like a hummingbird, asking again and again if they need a drink refill. ... [more..]