I live on the outskirts of Chinatown where the markets are filled with all kinds of weird and wonderful things. While I’m not particularly attracted to the lizards on sticks, I will try various greens. Last weekend I headed over to my favorite market and a huge bag of pea shoots caught my attention. It was only $1 so I really had nothing to lose.
While pea shoots are quite common, I’ve never bought them before and really, had no idea what I should do with them. This was the very same weekend that I attended the Eat! Vancouver festival and interviewed a couple of Food TV celebrity chefs. So in my interview with Anna Olson, I asked her what she would do with the pea shoots. After discovering that these weren’t the tender baby shoots, Anna suggested that I sauté them asian-style. So the next day, that’s exactly what I did. Unfortunately, I didn’t have garlic, so instead I subbed in some shallots along with fresh ginger. It was a worthy compromise. The soy sauce lended the much needed saltiness and the ginger added bite. Add freshly ground pepper if you’d like, but for me, this was pretty tasty as is.
sautéed pea shoots, asian-style
4 c pea shoots
1/2 t olive oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 t toasted sesame oil
1 t minced ginger
1 shallot, mincedHeat olive oil in a large skillet or wok, adding ginger and shallots. Stir until golden. Add rinsed pea shoots. Once wilted, add in a couple shakes of sesame oil and soy sauce and sauté until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.
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I’ve never eaten pea shoots before… sounds delish!
Simple and such a rich shade of green!
Hey! I bought pea shoots yesterday for the first time. This looks great!
I get pea shoots every weekend at the farmers market now – I just like ’em as my raw greens for salads or on a sandwich instead of lettuce, they keep forever and don’t go all slimy like lettuce.
You’re so lucky to have Chinatown right there!
they are delish, veggiegirl. the leaves are tender and the stems are a bit stringy like celery. toothsome!
lisa, thanks, i love the colour too!
rachel, we’re often on the same track, food wise! can’t wait to see what you come up with.
kyla, i discovered the non-slimy effect, as a week later, the greens were perfect and i ate them steamed over pasta.
thanks, jae young! enjoy the cod recipes and next time, i’ll definitely try the pea shoots with garlic.
omg, I love pea shoots! Aren’t they the best <3 And they are totes awesome with garlic. Popping in because I really like your cod recipes and I saw this entry and it made me happy.
The best way (and only way I’ll eat them) to eat pea shoots. Soooo good.
Mmm I LOVE pea shoots. Well since about 2 weeks ago I love them. I’ve had them several times before that but for some reason now they taste so much better to me.
Chinatown sure is a fun place to explore, but I’ve never really bought anything. Something about cardboard boxes full of chicken parts that puts me off….. The greens look delish though!
I’ve never had pea shoots before…but for $1 a bag I would certainly try. This sounds really good!
Okay, I’m gone for 2 weeks and you suddenly become a celebrity chef interviewer??!! I’m so jealous kickpleat! Gotta check out those interviews of yours 😉
I’ve never seen pea shoots in the local market. I guess China Town would be the place to find them. I wonder if little Korea Town (near me) would have them ?
good to know, cookinpanda!
eatme_delicious, hooray on your new found love! me too 🙂
hag, for a dollar a bag, there’s nothing wrong with that!
judy, i’ve never seen cardboard boxes filled with chicken parts here. that’s a bit scary! i LOVE chinatown. the greens however are amazing.
bijoux, one interview is up, the other is lost in limbo, i guess! for sure you can find them in chinatown, and probably korea town too! who knows!
I haven’t had pea shoots either, but they look wonderful.
I’m a peashoot person too. I like your simple preparation.
Even if it’s not a lizard on a stick, it’s still green!! These look delicious, I am a big fan of pea shoots and this looks like a great method of preparing them. I also just love the weirdness that you so aptly described of Chinatown–so foreign in your own city!
thanks eb, sometimes simple is best.
renae, you should pick them up if you see them in your market. they are worth it!
yes, i love love love chinatown and i feel spoiled that i live so close!
Pea shoots are the best! I just put some seeds into my garden this past weekend and can’t wait to see them grow and then to eat them.