Thursday, July 28, 2011

Stir Fried Snow Peas


From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Our farmer's markets are flooded with legumes this week. There are bins of snow, snap and English peas just waiting for the taking. I'd love to believe they are field fresh and locally grown, but I suspect they've been shipped from a neighboring state. I guess that's local enough to prevent a guilty conscience on my part, but the locovore in me wishes they were truly home grown. The snow peas looked wonderful and the few I tested were stringless, so there was no doubt about which peas were coming home with me. I love to stir fry vegetables, especially at this time of year. The rapid tossing and high heat, assure the vegetables will be crisp tender and offer perfect resistance to the tooth. I like to finish certain of the vegetables with a light coating of an Asian-style sauce. The sauce used in this recipe is really interesting and I think those of you who try it, will enjoy it. There is, however, a caveat. The sauce coats the peas in an unappetizing shade of brown. The peas you see in the picture above were wiped clean for the photograph. If you saw them fully dressed you'd run for the hills and think that I had come undone. While they'll win no beauty contests, I can assure you the peas are delicious and appear regularly on my table. If you can look past the unfortunate color, I think you'll really enjoy them. Here's the recipe.

Stir Fried Snow Peas...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Taste of Home Magazine

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh snow or sugar snap peas
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Dash cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:
In a large nonstick skillet or wok, saute the peas in canola oil until crisp-tender. Add the garlic, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and cayenne; saute 1 minute longer. Add basil; toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Yield: 6 servings.







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53 comments :

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy! And, I like the contrasting color of the tomatoes.

Little Inbox said...

This is my favourite way to enjoy vegetables.

Jeannie said...

Yep, chinese stir fried vegetables don't look good in photos, however, the taste is awesome! I can eat that plate of snow peas by myself in a wink!

sheila @ Elements said...

Now this is my kind of meal! I'm nuts about peas, and I could eat my weight in this! I don't mind peas that look brown from the sauce. :)

The Harried Cook said...

I love sugar snap peas! And the addition of sesame seeds makes me drool... I bet this tastes really good! Thanks for a great recipe, Mary!

Banana Wonder said...

Love these tender veggies.. and the sesame seeds on top are always tops!

Anonymous said...

I love the term locovore! Peas have to be al dente for me too :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I have never come across stringless snow peas, but will keep my eyes open wide!!!

Rachana said...

Looks delicious! Love the addition of sesame seeds.

Have a lovely day, Mary.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

your simple stir fried snow peas look simple and nice.

Ruth said...

The stir fry liquid sounds lovely with the soy and the balsamic! Have a great day!

Maris (In Good Taste) said...

Mary you make everything look exceptional-even peas!

Lynn said...

They sound amazing to me! I'll have to remember this for next June when my snow peas come in:@)

Diane said...

I love snow peas and this sounds a great way to cook them. Diane

MaryMoh said...

Mmmmm....just what I like. With a bowl of rice, I'll be a happy woman! :D Hope you have a wonderful day!

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

you are magnificient...a wonderfully comforting dish..:)
Tasty Appetite

From the Kitchen said...

We do have local snow peas that we've been munching on raw. I think we'll enjoy your tasty stir fry recipe on Saturday.

I made your (and Susan's) recipe for olive bread. Delicious! I posted about it today. Thanks!

Best,
Bonnie

Anonymous said...

I like how you added the sesame seeds and the tomatoes are a nice contrast in the photo and a nutritional boost too.

Tanna said...

Mary, I love that ingredient list! I'm thinking the smell alone would be enough to make them look downright beautiful! ;) blessings ~ tanna

Kim said...

I like this sauce, even if it coeats beautiful snow peas with a brown shade!

Susan Lindquist said...

Oh! What a nice quick prep for all the peas coming on right now! I bet I could do up some fresh green beans the same way!

Cooking Creation said...

Mmmm these sound tasty! I have never added balsamic to an Asian sauce but that is about to change! Thanks for sharing :)

Clint said...

Looks really good! Except the portion is too small for a strapping lad such as moi.

Unknown said...

Beautiful plate, Mary! I love stir frying vegetables... will be trying this one very soon!

lena said...

hi mary, even if this dish comes to be in unattractive color, i dont mind, i can finish that up for you faster than you think!

Anonymous said...

in this day and age, shipped from a neighboring state ain't all that bad. sure beats the slow boat from china, literally. i'm always amazed how much frozen food comes from there. and pet food. even Whole Foods carries predominantly dog snacks imported from China. scary!

Epicurea said...

i could eat that whole plate by myself too, looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

ps. The folks at Spilled Milk did a bit on peas last year, and while every chef said that they preferred barely cooked peas, some chemistry expert dude said that because peas are technically beans and they are a certain kind of starch, you really need to cook them the death to get the best flavor out of them. isn't that odd that one set of experts can think one thing, and another think something completely different? but that's what makes this planet worth living on.

Adam said...

Stir fries are fantastic, haven't had a good one in a long while. And I wasn't aware that peas were allowed to look that good. You sure that's legal?

kitchen flavours said...

I just love stir-fry veggies! Could eat the whole plate all by myself! Thanks for sharing, Mary! Have a lovely day!

Sandra said...

Wonderful dishes..fresh and beautiful!

Jessica | Cajunlicious said...

Wonderful dish! This would make a perfect lunch or afternoon snack!

Anonymous said...

I'm such a fan of peas. I'm eating snap peas like they're going out of style.

Pam said...

Great presentation with the red tomatoes. Love the flavors in this snow pea dish!

Ola said...

crunchy and delicious - I love it! :)

Joanne said...

I'm not usually the biggest snow pea fan but that sauce could make me think otherwise.

Anonymous said...

I have never tried a stir fried snow peas, but the pics with the sesame is too tempting...will try it soon...thanx for sharing it

David said...

Mary, I love snow peas!! Great recipe... I need my snow pea fix soon! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Becka (The Elegant Eggplant) said...

What beautiful colors!!! Looks delish.

Stevie said...

That's curious, your addition of basalmic vinegar. I'd never have thought of that. I do know what you mean about this kind of stir fry turining brown, though I ten d tyo like the color. Brown always makes me think "food." We grew sweet peas in our community gardne this spring. So tasty! I made sautes like yours but wish that I'd seen it before our plant gave out.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I haven't had snow peas in so long! And I will have to try the Asian sauce, I don't buy any because I don't know what's in it, but have never seen a recipe for it till now!

Tina said...

Though ther is the saying that you also eat with your eye, there definitely are some dishes that aren't really pretty but oh so delicious! I LOVE fresh legumes.

Kim said...

yay for veggies! i went to the farmer's market just two days ago, but no luck of snow peas or legumes just yet. looks delicious Mary!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

There is nothing that does not look good coming out of your kitchen.

Unknown said...

this is a great idea...I need to be pushed to try different ways to prepare vegetables :) THANKS!

Unknown said...

Great idea. A restaurant we go to has snow peas like this seasonally. It is a long wait between seasons.

Musings Of Taste said...

Hi Mary,

Thankyou for the comment, it's early days for my blog, but I'm looking forward to continued posts and expansion, In fact the sour dough odyssey I've begun is ready for an update! Your blog looks great, I'll certainly have to have a go at some of your recipes.

Thanks :)

David

Faith said...

No matter what color they are, I think this sounds like a fantastic dish! My mom really goes crazy for snow peas, I'm going to print this out for her...thanks for sharing, Mary!

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful! I love snow peas - they are quick and easy to prepare, but are SOooooo good! Beautiful photos!

polwig said...

These look good (even if they are not as dressed), crispy and flavorful. I just wish that plate was before me now.

Anonymous said...

I love cruncheness and fresh taste of snowpeas.:)

Renata said...

Mary, I love snow peas, and I often cook them when I'm in Brazil, but here in Korea I have never seen them. Loved your recipe and will bookmark it for my next visit home (Brazil)

Elaine said...

You are too funny, Mary. I can't believe that you wiped off the snow peas! :) But, you are probably right that they would not have been as appealing. I love your photo and with the pop of the cherry tomatoes!

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