Beer Battered Shishito Peppers with Garlic Sriracha Sauce

These. were. addicting. To be honest I'm not sure I'd ever had a shishito pepper until this year, maybe unknowingly at a restaurant, but certainly hadn't bought them before. This year my boyfriend brought home a shishito pepper plant for our garden and it is producing like crazy so I had to think of something to do with them! They're crunchy snacking peppers that are typically not hot, but occasionally you'll get a spicy one in the mix. They came the perfect texture when fried, softened up but not mushy with a nice crispy batter layer - I couldn't get enough of them! The garlic sriracha dipping sauce I made paired so well, so we'll walk through how to mix that up as well, but if spicy or sriracha isn't your thing these would taste great with a ranch, possibly even ketchup, or just plain with no sauce as my guy preferred them. Anything that people like without a sauce or flavor additive I consider a recipe success! These would make a great appetizer to serve up for guests to snack on, for game day, or even as a side dish instead of french fries! 

Ingredients:

• ​Shishito Peppers - however many you want
• 1 package beer batter mix - found where you would find panko batter or fish fry mix in your grocery store. If you can't find any, another frying batter would work just fine as a substitute. 
• Beer - as much as specified to use by your beer batter mix. I used 8 oz with the Louisiana beer batter. 
• Vegetable oil for frying, enough to get about an inch of oil in your frying pan. 

 Garlic Sriracha Dipping Sauce Ingredients (Optional):

• 1 cup mayo - I used the olive oil mayo. 
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sriracha sauce *approx - you can taste test and add more if you want it spicier! 

Directions:

1. Prep your work area as pictured above. Pour in your oil until your fry pan has between 1/2"-1" oil. Turn burner on to medium to let the oil start heating up. * We don't want to put it on high because if the oil gets too hot it will burn as we fry and pop and make a mess on your stove. Slower frying over medium heat will get the best results and have the least mess! Mix up your batter in a mixing bowl per the instructions on the batter packaging. Line a plate with a paper towel to place cooked peppers onto. 
2. Test to see if your oil is hot enough, I usually use a fork, dip it in the batter and dip in oil to see if it sizzles at all, once you get a little sizzle you are ready to go! 
3. Pinch the top of the pepper, dip in the batter, fully coating all but the top, and place in the oil. Allow each pepper to fry for a few minutes until golden brown. I use kitchen tongs to rotate a couple times as they cook. ​
4. Once golden brown, as pictured, remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. 
   
5. I find it easiest to continuously add peppers, rotate and remove as they are browned, a few peppers at a time, until all are cooked up!

Optional Sauce, Directions:

1. Mix mayo, garlic powder, and sriracha together in a small bowl. 
2. Taste test to see if you want it a little spicier or if it is too your liking! You can add a little sriracha if you want it spicier. 
3. Serve up in a little bowl with your battered peppers  and enjoy! 

Serve up peppers with your sriracha sauce, or dipping sauce of choice, and enjoy!