While perhaps not the most healthy, there are some delicious deep fried side dishes called 揚げ物 (agemono). One well known deep fried dish inside and outside of Japan is コロッケ. The ingredients for コロッケ differ by restaurant, but the most basic and commonly used ingredients include meat, potatoes, onion, salt rolled into oval shaped patties. After rolled in some flour, they are dipped in some egg yolk. Then they are rolled in some bread crumbs called パンこ. Finally they are deep fried in vegetable oil until they are brown.

とんカツ is often mistaken for コロッケ. The crucial difference between とんカツ and コロッケ is that とんカツ is always made of pork while コロッケ can be made out of chicken, pork, or beef. Variations on とんカツ include チケンカツ (made of chicken), ハムカツ (made of ham), ぎゅうカツ (made of beef). When served, とんカツ is cut into long stripes and dipped in a thick black Worcestershire sauce.

天ぷら are deep fried pieces of seafood or vegetables. The most common types of 天ぷら are shrimp, squid, crab or squash 天ぷら. First the shrimp (or squid, or crab, basically whatever you please) is fried in some batter made of water, flour and baking soda. Then they are fried in vegetable oil. てんつゆ is a dipping sauce that is commonly served with 天ぷら. てんつゆ is made of だし (soup stock), みりん (rice wine), and しょうゆ (soy sauce).

These types of food are also commonly made at home, so I’m sure you can find some good recipes on the net. Ok, time to go, またね!