Tempura Strawberries with Chocolate Orange Dipping Sugar is like nothing you’ve ever tasted. These fried strawberries might not look so pretty, but they sure taste good.

I so excited to share my new favorite strawberry recipe, Tempura Strawberries, with you.

Admittedly, fried Strawberries are not nearly as pretty as vine-ripened strawberries in all their natural glory. Although it’s not the most beautiful dish of all-time, please don’t let that stop you from giving it a go.

Because tempura batter is so thin, the berries don’t really cook in the coating, they just warm up and become super juicy. Have you ever eaten strawberries still warm from the sun? That’s what Tempura Strawberries taste like.

Scroll through the photos to see how to make Tempura Strawberries:

Assemble the ingredients for the batter.

ingredients for chocolate orange dipping sugar

Grate the orange zest and chocolate into the sugar.

Set up a sheet pan with a cooling rack next to the oil. As the strawberries are fried, put them on the rack to drain.

The tempura coating is very thin.

Drain the strawberries as they are fried.

By replacing some of the water with vodka you’ll form less gluten in the batter and end up with a super light and crisp tempura coating. If you don’t have vodka available, or don’t like to use alcohol, you can use all seltzer instead.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star review.

Tempura Strawberries

Name: Tempura Strawberries
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 21 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: general
Ingredients: Zest of 1/2 orange, grated; 1/4 cup (2 oz, 60g) granulated sugar; 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, grated; 2 quarts vegetable oil; 1 cup (4 oz, 120g) cake flour; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 large egg, whisked (you only need 1/2, the the rest for egg wash or another use); 1/2 cup vodka (see note); 1 quart strawberries, use a damp paper towel to wipe clean; 1/2 cup seltzer water

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 21 minutes

Have you ever eaten strawberries still warm from the sun? That’s what Tempura Strawberries taste like.

Ingredients

Dipping Sugar

Zest of 1/2 orange, grated
1/4 cup (2 oz, 60g) granulated sugar
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, grated

Strawberries

2 quarts vegetable oil
1 cup (4 oz, 120g) cake flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, whisked (you only need 1/2, the the rest for egg wash or another use)
1/2 cup vodka (see note)
1 quart strawberries, use a damp paper towel to wipe clean
1/2 cup seltzer water

Instructions

Make Dipping Sugar

Combine the sugar, orange zest and grated chocolate in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to combine

Fry the strawberries

Heat the oil in a heavy pan.
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients. Combine the seltzer with the vodka.
Pour the seltzer/vodka into the flour, mix until partially combined. Pour half the whisked egg into the batter and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
When the oil reach 400°F dip a strawberries into the batter and gently lower into the oil. Fry for just a minute until the coating is crisp and lightly browned. Drain on a rack set over a sheet pan.
Work in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Serve while still hot with the dipping sugar.