Stir-Fried Pea Leaves with Garlic

Stir-fried pea leaves with garlic is one of those dishes that I will almost always order from a Chinese restaurant menu. The dish is about as simple as it gets and needs very little explanation. Tender pea leaves are stir-fried over high heat with sliced garlic, some light seasonings, and a touch of water or stock. It is incredibly simple to throw together and I highly suggest you give it a try at home.

The great thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. By varying the seasonings, cooking liquids or cooking techniques, you can yield a number of different outcomes that will taste slightly different and work well alongside a number of different dishes. For example, I use soy sauce in this recipe but you could also use fish sauce or even just salt. Instead of chicken stock, feel free to use pork stock or plain water. While this dish tastes even better cooked over very high heat in a wok over a wok burner, I often cook this dish on my regular stove in a large saute pan and it still tastes great. The point is, don’t stress too much when you are cooking this dish, you can make tweaks here and there and still end up with something delicious.

Pea Leaves

Pea leaves are simply the tender leaves, stems, and shoots from a number of different pea cultivars. While pea leaves are typically found in farmer’s markets in the spring and early summer, Asian grocer stores often carry them year-round. When shopping for pea leaves, you may notice that they seem to vary quite a bit in terms of appearance. Some pea leaves have very long, thin stems with small leaves and some will have shorter, thicker stems and big leaves. Most of these will work well. Just be aware that if the pea leaves are from plants that are overly mature, they won’t be as sweet and the stems could be a bit tough.

Goes well with:

• Steamed Jasmine Rice
• Mapo Tofu
• Twice-Cooked Pork
• Braised Tofu with Pork, Garlic, and Pickled Chili

Stir-Fried Pea Leaves with Garlic

Ian Benites

A very simple, yet delicious side dish that can be made in under 10 minutes.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 1/2# (250 grams) pea sleaves (pea shoots), washed and dried
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4-5 Tbsp chicken stock or water
• 1/4 tsp MSG (optional)

Instructions

 

• Lightly crush the cloves of garlic with the side of your knife and then roughly slice them. Don't slice the garlic too thinly or overly chop the garlic. A coarser cut of garlic will bun less readily and have a better texture and flavor in the final dish
  
• Get a wok or large saute pan very hot over high heat. Add the oil to the pan.
  
• Once the oil is in the pan it should start to smoke. Throw in the sliced garlic, cook for 5-10 seconds and immediately add the pea leaves to the pan.
  
• Toss the garlic and pea leaves in the hot pan for about 20-30 seconds, still over high heat. Use a spoon or spatula to stir the pea shoots as they fry.
  
• Pour the soy sauce around the sides of the pan and then immediately add the stock (or water) and sprinkle on the MSG.
  
• Continue to toss everything in the pan over high heat for another 30 – 45 seconds or until the pea shoots have wilted. This time may vary depending on how tender the pea leaves are. If the pan completely dries out before the pea leaves are wilted, add more stock or water as needed. There should be a few spoonfuls of liquid at the bottom of the pan when you have finished cooking the dish.
  
• Once the pea leaves are wilted, taste them and adjust the seasoning by adding a touch more soy sauce if necessary.
  
• Serve.