Happy New Year! I figured I should start the year off healthy with some vegetables. But plain vegetables aren’t always my thing, so let’s spice them up a bit with these sugar snap peas.

Whenever I am given the option to choose a vegetable with dinner, I go with peas like 90% of the time. It’s a problem. And my wife doesn’t appreciate it so much. So even though this recipe is for peas, it is different because they’re still in the shell. Right?

For this, I busted out the wok that my wife got me as a present a while back. So then maybe she’d be a bit more inclined to enjoy the peas. A wok is not required, but it is quite helpful for this recipe.

Woks get hot very fast, have nice high sides for stirring, and cook rather quickly. The slight char that really sets this recipe apart is also much easier to acheive with the wok than the frying pan. Note that since I used a wok while making this recipe, cooking times may vary if you use a frying pan instead.

Prepping Sugar Snap Peas

While I enjoy the fresh, crisp crunch of sugar snap peas, the strings are displeasing. The strings are tough, chewy, and don’t go down easy. But don’t let that ruin the peas for you. You can follow this guide on sugar snap peas by Bon Appetit to remove the strings.

I’ll admit that removing the strings didn’t work out great for me. I think that it may work better with fresher peas. But I bought mine, and then they sat in the fridge for a few days. Longer than I wanted them to, but I didn’t end up making this recipe exactly when I thought I would.

With or without strings, they are still edible. It just makes them a little more pleasant to eat.

Semi Spicy?

I call this semi-spicy because it has a bit of heat, but not much. And you could tone it up or down depending on your own heat tolerances.

Ginger, chili oil, and chili garlic sauce give the heat to this recipe. So if you want it less spicy, then replace the chili oil with sesame oil. If you like it a bit more spicy than most, then add in crushed red pepper, gochujang, or some fresh chopped chiles.

I tend to like things a little spicy but my wife tends to prefer the milder side of food. However, these sugar snap peas were not too hot to handle when made following the recipe measurements.

Enjoy these stir-fried peas as a side to fried rice, dan dan noodles, or ramen.

Semi Spicy Sugar Snap Peas

Course: SidesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Sugar snap peas with a slight char and a lightly spicy soy and honey-based sauce are an easy weeknight side dish.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon chili oil

• 1 and 1/2 pounds sugar snap peas

• 1/2 cup chopped scallions (about 4 onions)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon minced ginger

• (Optional) 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions

• Mix the soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and honey together in a bowl and set aside for later
• Heat a wok or frying pan on medium high heat and add sesame and chili oil
• Add garlic and ginger to the pan and stir for 1 minute
• Mix in the sugar snap peas, coat with the oil, and stir for 5 minutes
• Add onions and mixed soy/chili garlic/honey sauce and stir another 5 minutes until peas are cooked with a slight char and most of the liquid is gone
• Remove from heat, top with sesame seeds if desired, and serve them hot

Notes

• Cooking times may vary if you use a frying pan instead of a wok

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