What is "tenkasu"

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 added tenkasu are called tanuki-soba and tanuki-udon (haikara-soba and haikara-udon in Kansai region).

It is also called . According to the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 68% Japanese called it tenkasu and 29% called it agedama in 2003. Tenkasu is more common in western Japan and agedama is more common in eastern Japan.