tenkasu

{{Short description|Crunchy bits of deep-fried flour batter used in Japanese cuisine}}

{{More sources needed|date=June 2020}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Tenkasu

| image = Tenkasu detail.jpg

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| caption = Close-up of tenkasu

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| country = Japan

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| main_ingredient = Batter

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File:Tanuki soba by rhosoi in Cupertino, CA.jpg

{{Nihongo|Tenkasu|天かす||lit. "tempura waste"}}{{Cite book |last=Inada |first=Sanae |title=Simply Onigiri: fun and creative recipes for Japanese rice balls |publisher=Marshall Cavendish International |year=2012 |isbn=978-981-4484-95-4 |editor-last=Limocu |editor-first=Jolene |location=Singapore |page=56}} are crunchy bits of deep-fried flour batter used in Japanese cuisine, specifically in dishes such as soba, udon, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki. Hot, plain soba and udon with added tenkasu are called tanuki-soba and tanuki-udon, respectively (haikara-soba and haikara-udon in the Kansai region).

They are also called {{Nihongo|agedama|揚げ玉||literally "fried ball"}}. According to the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 68% of Japanese people called them tenkasu and 29% agedama in 2003. Tenkasu is more common in western Japan and agedama in the east.