If you visit Japan and see tendon on the menu, don’t worry; it’s not “connective tissue” that’s being served! Tendon (天丼) is actually a shortened name for a dish called tempura donburi or tempura rice bowl.
There are many ways to enjoy tempura—over noodles, in rice balls, dipped in sauce, or sprinkled with sea salt. Today, I want to show you how to serve it over steamed rice in a large donburi bowl with thick and savory sauce drizzled on top. Read on to see how to assemble this comforting and satisfying rice bowl in this Tendon guide!
What is Tendon or Tempura Bowl?
The name tendon is actually a mash up of two words—tempura (天ぷら) and donburi (丼ぶり). This Japanese dish consists of assorted ingredients that are lightly battered and deep-fried, then served with a sweet-salty sauce on a bed of steamed rice in a large donburi bowl.
While you can make tempura with a wide range of fresh ingredients, the most common options are seafood, mushrooms, and root vegetables. For a classic tendon, I recommend serving both shrimp tempura and vegetable tempura.
The type of tempura you add to this bowl can be anything you’d like, actually. You could even use a regional tempura variation like chicken tempura (toriten).
Reheat Leftover Tempura for Tendon
The beauty of tendon is that you can use leftover tempura, too! Simply reheat the leftovers in an oven or toaster oven and assemble your bowl. (See instructions below.)
Make a big batch of tempura one day for a quick and satisfying tendon meal the next!
Use Thicker Tempura Sauce for Tendon
When eating regular tempura, we dip the tempura in a thin dipping sauce called tentsuyu. However, we typically serve tendon with a thicker and saltier tentsuyu sauce. The concentrated, strong flavor pairs well with plain steamed rice.
We drizzle this sauce in two steps: First over the hot rice, then on top of the deep-fried tempura ingredients. It’s then ready to serve.
To make the tempura sauce, you can reduce the tentsuyu in a pot over the stove. Simply let the moisture evaporate, which thickens the sauce. You can also add a bit of mirin or/and sugar to make it slightly sweeter.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Tendon
- cooked Japanese short-grain rice – typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per serving for a large donburi bowl
- shrimp tempura – we typically use black tiger prawns for home cooking; try either my standard or gluten-free (with rice flour) tempura batter for golden crispy shrimp
- vegetable tempura – my recipe uses Japanese sweet potato (Satsumaimo), lotus root, Japanese eggplant, kabocha squash, and shiso (perilla) leaf; shiitake mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms are also delicious; use your favorite vegetables
- tempura dipping sauce – made with dashi (Japanese soup stock), soy sauce, mirin, and sugar
How To Assemble Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl)
- Cook the rice. See how to cook short-grain white rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe. You could also make brown rice, if you prefer.
- Prepare the tempura. Deep fry fresh tempura following my Shrimp Tempura and Vegetable Tempura recipes.
- Alternatively, you can reheat leftover tempura from the previous day. Place the tempura on a wire rack set in a baking sheet or pan in a preheated oven (400ºF or 200ºC) or toaster oven for 5 minutes or until crisp and heated through.
- Make the thickened tentsuyu sauce (tare). Follow my Tempura Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu) recipe, bringing the ingredients to a boil. Then, let the sauce simmer and reduce until it starts to thicken. You can also add sugar and/or mirin to sweeten it a little (optional) as it’s tastier when served with steamed rice.
- Assemble the tempura rice bowl. Serve the cooked Japanese rice in a large individual bowl and drizzle sauce on the rice. Place the mixed tendon tempura pieces on top in a circular pattern so that it looks more organized and appetizing. Generously drizzle more sauce on the tempura. Alternatively, you could quickly dip the tempura pieces in the sauce before placing them on the steamed rice instead of drizzling the sauce.
Make Donburi (Rice Bowl) for a Quick Dinner
Donburi is a handy dish that does not take much time to prepare, typically less than 30 minutes. I often make rice bowls for dinner when my children are busy with lots of activities. I complete the meal with homemade miso soup and salad. Here are some of my go-to donburi recipes:
- Gyudon
- Oyakodon
- Unadon (Unagi Don)
- Chicken Katsu Don
- Tekka Don (Tuna Bowl)
- Salmon & Salmon Roe Don
- Soboro Don
Crispy, crunchy tempura on rice is simply delicious. If you are eating leftover tempura on the following day, make sure to reheat the tempura in a toaster oven or oven. DO NOT use a microwave to heat up because it will make them soggy. Enjoy!
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Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl)
Ingredients
- 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 1 serving shrimp tempura (you can make my Shrimp Tempura recipe)
- 1 serving vegetable tempura (you can make my Vegetable Tempura recipe)
- 1 serving tempura dipping sauce (you can make my Tempura Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu) recipe
Instructions
Plan your Tendon
- This recipe is to guide you through assembling Tendon. Therefore, the recipe does not include the prep and cook time for your tempura, tempura sauce, or steamed rice. Please look at my tempura recipes for more details because the prep/cook time varies depends on serving size and ingredients of your choice.
- For the steamed rice, please note that ¾ cup (150 g, 1 rice cooker cup) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yields 2¼ US cups (330 g) of cooked white rice, enough for 1 donburi serving (typically 1⅔ cups or 250 g). See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
To Use Leftover Tempura
- If you use leftover tempura from the previous day, reheat the tempura in the oven or oven toaster. Do not microwave as the tempura batter gets too soft.
To Make the Tempura Sauce
- Follow tempura dipping sauce recipe in my shrimp tempura or vegetable tempura recipes. Let the sauce simmer and reduce until the sauce starts to thicken. You can also add sugar and/or mirin to sweeten a little (optional) as it's tastier when served with steamed rice.
To Make Fresh Tempura
- Whether you make shrimp tempura, vegetable tempura, or gluten-free tempura, adjust the ingredients based on the number of tempura bowls you plan to make.
To Assemble the Tendon
- Assemble the Tendon. Put 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice in a donburi bowl, drizzle some tempura sauce on the rice, and place 1 serving shrimp tempura and 1 serving vegetable tempura on top. Drizzle generously the rest of the 1 serving tempura dipping sauce on top of the tempura. Alternatively, instead of drizzling the sauce on top, you can quickly dip the tempura in the sauce before placing it on top of a bed of steamed rice.
Nutrition
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