I'm sharing some tips and secrets of making the perfect pea shoots stir-fry, over at Weekend Herb Blogging and this week, we have our host, Susan at The Well-Seasoned Cook.
Of course, we need: Oil. High Heat. Chinese Cooking Wine.
Further, to ensure the sweet pea shoots not too fibrous when cooked:
(1) No Overcooking.
(2) Do not store the shoots in the refrigerator for too long. Use it almost immediately (perhaps less than 3 days) after purchase . When stored for too long, sweet pea shoots lose the tender firm (crisp) texture. It gets too fibrous - hard to chew after they are cooked.
(3) Also, pluck away those "curly shoots"
Share your tips and secrets with us.
Tag: pea shoots, vegetables, stir fry
this is defitely something very new to be! intrigging indeed!
ReplyDeleteto me, it's not easy to cook dou miao. I add about 50ml water and cover it to let it "boil" to help the cooking. I didn't know the secret is shaoxing, what does it do (besides the added aroma)?
ReplyDeleteThey're too pretty to cook!
ReplyDeletewiffy, I add a bit of water too, just like any other green veg since I do not add a lot of cooking oil. I believe the wine (don't have to use a lot - I use about 3-5tbsp for abt 3 servings of veg) also increase the heat of cooking - so the dou miao cooks faster without staying too long in the wok and become overcooked and fibrous.
ReplyDeleteGood tips...will try it next time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips. I haven't got a chance to try this vege yet.
ReplyDeleteI try to look for the "young" dou miao. They are smaller and a lot easier to cook. I find that the older ones are a lot more fibrous
ReplyDeleteoui another of my very favourite vegetables, I used to pluck them from our snow peas plants back in Cameron Highlands.
ReplyDeleteRecently I also realized that the secret of stir fry green veggie by adding Tiew Heng wine. I hardly find snow peas leaves here, next time when I see this, will sure by some and just cook this simple way.
ReplyDeleteShao Xing Wine?!? Never heard of that before! I'd add as a second secret to have a big pan/wok so that the pea shoots can easily cook. One of my friends actually got our sink stuck due to the fibrous pea shoots :).
ReplyDeleteThose shoots are really expensive in Oz land! I normally use them in salad. Too expensive to use in stir-fry. See how "poor" we are here? :))
ReplyDeleteBlurMommy, "young" dou miao tend to be a grassier (raw) taste compared to the older dou miao...heee heeee
ReplyDeleteEatTravelEat, yea! yea! big wok big wok!
usually just throw into the wok and stir fry for a few seconds, add in water and cover to let it "steam"
ReplyDeleteSamuel, try a few drizzles of Chinese cooking wine (go round the edge of the wok) for the final touch!
ReplyDeletesure will lol, that is if i have the time to cook now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog tigerfish. btw, u may have come across my old blog before, The Yummie dummieS?
I use Shaoxing Wine to stir fry too. The smell and taste of Shaoxing wine match really well with Chinese veggies, esp. Dou Miao. And I also find that those stir-fried Dou Miao at Chinese restaurants is very smooth and soft. The chefs use lots of oil because Dou Miao absorbs lots of oil. I don't like too oily though. I often use very little at the beginning of stir-frying. When the dish is almost done, I'd drizzle some olive oil to combine, then dish up immediately. The Dou Miao will look very shiny, smooth and inviting, yet not too oily.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of pea sprouts stir-fried chicken oil.
ReplyDeleteI use both Shaoxing and half-dry sherry to stir fry.
Yes, this is what my Shanghai friend told me~ add shaoxing and a little sugar.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty dish and very simple, too, if following your example. We don't see these in U.S. except in Asian markets, but many gardeners harvest them fr/ there own plants.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great WHB recipe!
Thsnks for the tips! I didn't know that's the secret ingredient. But for some reason, I don't really like this sweet pea shoots. I prefer the young dou miao.
ReplyDeleteSamuel, so it is you....The Yummie dummieS....good blog you have.
ReplyDeleteChristine, probably the wine aroma tends to kill some grassy raw taste in dou miao? I don't use a lot of oil too, so usually I will add some water (to simmer it to cook), then finish off with some wine. I believe the heat generated with addition of wine also helps to cook the veg faster. Thanks for your wonderful tips.
ReplyDeleteAngie, sherry.....cool tip!
ReplyDeleteAnncoo, my secret was passed down from a Shanghai friend too. Yes yes...sugar is secret to Shanghai food.
That's a beautiful plate and I love the second photograph.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!
Sounds wonder, never cooked sweet pea shoots before now I can approach them with confidence!
ReplyDeleteInstead of salt, I use a splash of fish sauce in addition to the Shiao Xing wine.
ReplyDeleteif only i can find this in perth. I love it simply stir fry with garlic!
ReplyDeletewell im not really into cooking and stuffs.. but the pictures are nice =)
ReplyDeletekenwooi.com
Sweet pea shoots are my favorite!!! MMMMmm delicious and I love the photos too
ReplyDeleteLast year I planted some sweet pea plants and someone told me I should pluck the shoot for stir-fry but I didn't:( mayne I should try again this summer
ReplyDeletebeachlover, you have it right at your backyard! *envy*
ReplyDeleteI love pea shoots! I've never tried to cook it because I've heard it's difficult and fussy to cook. Maybe I should now attempt to make it restaurant style =)
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I love chinese cooking wine and I definitely don't use it as often as I should. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteNever know that Chinese cooking wine can do magic to this veggie. That's a great tip to me! ;)
ReplyDeleteI use loads of garlic if I am doing a simple veggie stirfry. But adding some chinese wine is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and maybe add some kei chi (Chinese wolfberries) for sweetness and colour? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThese sprouts pictures are so cute!
ReplyDeleteLooks very refreshing and healthy. I love simple stir fries. Vegetables that are fresh and tender do not need much seasonings. They have a natural sweetness of it's own.
ReplyDeleteoo yes, everything with a little bit of cooking wine is good.
ReplyDeletethanks for the explanation! I'll try it out again :)
ReplyDeleteI love these tips! I've never cooked pea shoots before but I'll definitely keep this in mind for when I do!
ReplyDelete