Snow peas
Pisum sativum var. saccharatum (edible-pod peas)
Mild, sweet, slightly grassy; vegetal crunch; doesn't dominate other ingredients.
About Snow
Snow peas are the flat, immature pea pods eaten whole — pod and peas together — that define East Asian stir-fry cuisine. Distinct from sugar snap peas (which have round pods with developed peas inside) and English peas (which require shelling), snow peas are harvested at the earliest stage when the pod is still flat and the peas inside are barely developed. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet with a distinctive vegetal crunch; the cooking time is minimal (90 seconds in a stir-fry). Chinese cuisine uses snow peas extensively in stir-fries with chicken, beef, shrimp; Japanese cuisine features them in tempura and as a salad component. Trim the stem end and string before cooking.
Variety profile
Common uses
- Chinese stir-fry
- Asian salad component
- Tempura
- Raw salad with sesame dressing
- Vegetable platter
Editorial notes
Trim the stem end and pull the string along the pod's seam before cooking. Snow peas vs sugar snap peas: snow peas are flat with barely-developed peas; sugar snap peas have round pods with fully-developed peas inside.