Spring is the harbinger for many good things to eat. I plant and eagerly wait for seedlings to sprout in my garden. I shop at markets to look for the new season’s crop of Asian vegetables. One of my favorite spring-time Asian vegetables is the little pea tip. Around now is when they’re just about right for farmers to harvest.
Pea tips (aka pea sprouts, snow pea shoots) are called dou miao in Mandarin. They are full of pea goodness, the embodiment of snap peas. Look for pea tips at Chinese markets in plastic bags. You’ll pay about $3 a pound as they are time consuming to individually pick by hand. Use within several days of purchase to enjoy this vegetable delicacy at its peak.
In the above photo, note the cutie tendrils. Tender tendrils are edible whereas older ones are akin to dental floss. I pluck them all off, for good measure. The occasional white pea bud is edible. Keep them, if you like, when prepping the pea tips for cooking.
The most common way to experience pea tips is in a simple, fast stir-fry (called qing chao dou miao in Mandarin). Add some rendered chicken or duck fat for richness, if you like! Or render the fat on the spot, as I ‘discovered’ the other night. For this stir-fried pea tips recipe, I used the duck fat I saved from the Sichuan duck experiments. Use canola or peanut if you want a vegetarian or vegan option.
Recipe
Pea Tips Stir-fried with Garlic Recipe
Qing Chao Dou Miao
If you multiply this stir-fry for more people, do it in batches. Otherwise, you’ll not reap the wok-hay benefits and the tips loose a bit of their zest.
Serves 2
6 to 7 ounces pea tips
6 tablespoons chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ tablespoons rendered chicken or duck fat, or canola or peanut oil
2 or 3 large cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1. Use your fingers to break off and discard the fine curly tendrils from each pea tip. Then break the pea tip into 3-inch lengths, dropping them into a bowl. Set aside near the stove. (This is a great group task or assignment for kids!)
2. Combine the chicken stock and cornstarch and set aside near the stove.
3. Heat the fat in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for about 15 seconds, until aromatic.
Add the pea tips and a generous sprinkling of salt. Stir to combine and prevent the garlic from browning. When the pea tips have wilted to about ⅓ of their original volume, about 45 seconds, give the stock a stir, then add to the pea tips.
Stir and cook for about 30 seconds, until the liquid has thickened slightly. The pea tips should be now about ¼ of their original volume, signaling that they are done.
3. Remove from the heat, taste for salt. Transfer to a plate or shallow bowl and serve.
Related links:
- Easy Asparagus with soy sauce and sesame recipe (celebrate another spring time
vegetable Asian style) - To grow your own, see these two Asian seed specialists: Evergreen Seed and Kitazawa Seed.
What's your favorite way of cooking pea tips? Care to share?
healthy kitchen
Nice recipe very healthy as well.. Love it..
John Murren
Andrea,
I have been holding this question, and never trying the shoots even though I'm a gardener, because of fear - are we doing any damage to the bean plant and its future beans when we cut off these shoots? Or, does this simply give the plant new places to start new branches/arms?
My sugar snaps and snow peas are all the climber type, and I've especially feared of injuring the top of the climbing trunk - that's really the same question as above but thinking maybe the main shoot is not cut, but all others OK - ???
I'd love to know the answer to this - than maybe I can experience another of nature's finest gems.
Thanks Andrea,
jm
drive a man wild
Hi, I have never experiment this kind of thing ever. But after reading the recipe i think i like this recipe and will try it out how it tests!
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Wow! Very nutritious. Can't wait to try this as soon I got home. Thanks for sharing this
Tom Green
Oh my god these are amazing, thanks for the recipe!
Joel
jm, let me answer on behalf of Andrea (hope you don't mind Andrea). I don't think so, these leaves will in any way grow and I believe if you take them off this year, the leaves may come back in the following season so it is a widely used way in Asia to trim the plant.
Andrea, in fact the dish is as much part of the menu on Hong Kong's Vietnamese restaurants as Chinese restaurants or average people's home. It is so simple that I was already very good at preparing this dish myself when I was 16.
Andrea Nguyen
Jim -- To add to Joel's response, there are breeds of snap pea that some people like to use just for the tips. I imagine that you can plant some for their tips and other for the pods. Check this link from Kitazawa Seed for the Usui:
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_snow_pea_shoots.html
Joel -- I've been thinking lately that there are so many great Asian dishes that require just a handful of ingredients. This is definitely one of them. I like the fact that HK Viet restos are serving them too.
Michelle
Thanks for this recipe! I spied a bag of pea tips at the farmer's market this morning and it is on the menu for dinner tomorrow night. Can't wait to try them
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Diane
Tried these tonight with a big batch from the farmer's market - and it was awesome! I added chile garlic paste as well, because - well everything is better with chile garlic paste...
I tried to make these about a decade ago and it was a big old FAIL. Now I realize I should have broken them down into 3" pieces and removed tendrils. It was like eating sticky, stringy mouthful of grass. Tonight's was a world away from that.
Andrea Smolin
Your recipe was so simple and easy to make. It was super delicious! I was able to find pea tips at the local farmers market for only $2. I can't wait to make this more often.
Tuty @Scentofspice
Andrea,
I believe the pea shoots and pea sprouts are different (at least they are at 99 Ranch Market). The pea shoots are the ones you show here. The pea sprouts are the green sprouts from the peas (seeds).
As far as pricing, the pea shoots is $3.99/lb, while the pea sprouts is much lower (I can't remember the exact price).
Your thoughts?
Andrea Nguyen
Tuty -- Like you, I think of pea sprouts as more like bean sprouts, or radish sprouts. However, some people call them pea sprouts. That's why I'm sticking to pea tips.
With the price -- it fluctuates depending on where it's grown and how far it has to travel to reach your market. For that reason, I say "about $3".
ArcaNum
snow pea tips to be exact
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What are some cheap, healthy meals for a college student?
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We must hang together, or we'll be hanged separately.
Mimi
What is the Vietnamese word or name for pea vine?
the garlic guy
Vietnamese food is a favourite of mine now, when i saw today all the good stuff they put in, it must be healthy and very delicious.
Aaron B
I had really good results with this recipe. Only thing I changed was doing 5 cloves of garlic instead of 2-3 and it turned out a really nice garlicky flavor, definitely not overwhelming. I would also suggest buying more pea tips then chopping off the stalks on them.. they don't taste very good.
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Thanks for that step-by-step spelling out. I will really try this.But do you know of a better way of adding garlic to rice with the smell. I know of the benefits of garlic and so i am looking for ways of making it more consumable.