Sweet Pea Stir-Fry

Soft, tender, yet crunchy sweet pea stir-fry is a quick Chinese dish anyone can prepare in under 20 minutes. This recipe works just as great with snow peas or green beans.

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.