Tendon
Tendon
Tendon — tempura donburi — is one of the most satisfying Japanese rice bowl dishes: a deep bowl of freshly steamed white rice topped with pieces of crispy, light tempura and finished with a sweet, savoury tare sauce. The contrast of the crisp tempura coating against the soft rice underneath, all brought together by the rich sauce, is one of those combinations that feels unmistakably Japanese in its balance of textures and flavours. It is also relatively straightforward to make at home once the tempura technique is in place.
A proper tendon starts with good tempura frying — light batter, precise oil temperature and quick plating to preserve the crunch. The tare sauce is a mix of dashi, mirin, soy sauce and sugar, reduced to a glossy consistency and drizzled over the finished bowl. The quality of the dashi is important here: a broth made from good katsuobushi flakes and kombu will produce a sauce with genuine depth, while a shortcut dashi will taste flat by comparison.
The tools here cover both the frying and the serving aspects of tendon. Tempura pots and draining racks for the frying stage are complemented by the deep donburi bowls with lids that are traditional for serving. The lids are not merely decorative — they keep the bowl warm during the brief time between plating and sitting down, and they add to the presentation quality of the dish when brought to the table.
Tendon can be made with almost any ingredient that works in tempura: prawns, white fish, sweet potato, aubergine, shiso leaf, lotus root. Having the right tools makes it possible to cook multiple items in quick succession and plate a complete bowl in minutes.
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Serve in traditional donburi bowls and explore our cookware for the right frying pot.
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