Tempura Strawberries–Yes, you can fry fruit!

Tempura has a habit of spiralling into a fry fest when I make it. I cut up zucchini, onions, green peppers, carrots, chicken, I mean it seems like just about everything in your fridge can be dipped in batter and fried to a wonderful crisp when it’s tempura time.

I was making a batch on Saturday (promise,  I only make tempura once or twice a year because of my tendency to go overboard) and I couldn’t help but notice five lonely strawberries sitting on the counter. I took out some of the tempura batter before putting in the more savory ingredients and saved just a little to coat the berries. For the fruit batter I added coconut powder and a little extra sugar to give the tempura more flavor.

The strawberries fried beautifully–the outside batter stayed crisp while the berries inside became just gooey enough, but not mushy. I sprinkled the strawberries with powdered sugar and let my kids dig in. They were delicious.

Next time, I’d save the fried strawberries as a dessert after a light meal–tempura veggies followed by tempura fruit was a bit much. I’d also add some toasted coconut to the batter too. But as long as you’re making tempura, mine as well try something new, right? I did notice some cut cantalope in the fridge…and blackberries…