Sweet Pea Stir-Fry

My family is not particularly picky eaters, but they can be adamant that a meal should always be accompanied by a vegetable dish. Lucky for me, a quick stir-fry always does the trick to keep everyone happy, so it is not a big hassle to ensure smiling faces at meal times.

What I prepare for the day depends on which vegetable is fresh and in season in the market. Whenever I see fresh sweet peas, I always grab a packet or two to make this quick and easy sweet pea stir-fry.

Ingredients for Sweet Pea Stir-Fry

To make this simple sweet pea stir-fry, we will need:

• sweet peas
• dried shrimps
• garlic
• light soy sauce; can be replaced with regular soy sauce
• Shaoxing wine; can be replaced with Japanese sake or Chinese white wine.
• sesame oil

Although I am using sweet peas in this recipe, you can easily substitute them with snow peas or green beans.

TIPS: The cooking time for green beans should be almost the same, but for snow peas, you will only need 90 seconds of stir-frying instead of 3 minutes.

How to Cook Sweet Pea Stir-Fry

• 1. Prep sweet peas

Pull and discard the strings at the sides of the sweet peas, then trim both ends of the peas.

• 2. Soak dried shrimp

Soak the dried shrimp in hot water until soft. Strain the shrimp, but keep the soaking water.

• 3. Sauté aromatics

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat until hot, then add oil and swirl to cover the pan. Sauté the shrimp until fragrant, then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.

• 4. Sauté sweet peas

Add sweet peas, reserved soaking water, and soy sauce. Sauté for 3 minutes or until the peas are soft but crunchy. Add Shaoxing wine and sesame oil and stir for another 15 seconds.

• 5. Serve

Turn off the heat and transfer the dish to a serving plate. Serve the sweet peas immediately with steamed rice.

Ingredients

• 250 gram sweet peas
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimps
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

• Prep sweet peas: Pull and discard the strings at the sides of the sweet peas, then trim both ends of the peas.
• Soak dried shrimps: Soak the dried shrimp in hot water until soft. Strain the shrimp, but keep the soaking water.
• Sauté aromatics: Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat until hot, then add oil and swirl to cover the pan. Sauté the shrimp until fragrant, then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
• Sauté sweet peas: Add sweet peas, reserved soaking water, and soy sauce. Sauté for 3 minutes or until the peas are soft but crunchy. Add Shaoxing wine and sesame oil and stir for another 15 seconds.
• Serve: Turn off the heat and transfer the dish to a serving plate. Serve the sweet peas immediately with steamed rice.