Sauteed Pea Sprouts

Note: I originally wrote this post on my old blog, delectation.  I haven’t found a great way of easily porting old posts over, so I’m attempting this manual method for now. I’m also slightly editing and updating the post from its original.

I adore this vegetable. It is, without a doubt, my favourite green, the foodstuff which I am constantly craving if I go more than a couple of days without it. Some of the Chinese restaurants in the city offer pea sprouts. Sometimes they are indeed the sprouts themselves, tiny, thin-stemmed multitudes, like so many green needles, crisp and crunchy in fragrant garlic sauce. Other restaurants, such as Brother Seafood Restaurant on Irving and 19th, the Go-Go Cafe on Irving and 19th (note: now closed), and Ton Kiang on Geary, actually serve pea leaves (Ton Kiang lists them as “Snow Pea Tips” on their menu) — which I’ve come to prefer over the more traditional sprouts.  If you’re near the Tenderloin, Ken’s Kitchen will deliver within a certain radius (i.e., Alamo Square).  In the restaurants I believe they can also be called Tom Yau, or To Miao, or even Tau Miao.

Up until Thursday I’ve had bad luck at cooking that which I loved. I didn’t know how to trim them, nor of just the right combination of seasonings that made the restaurant-cooked versions so tasty. Fortuitously, I figured it out — I happened to have a nice bagful of beautifully trimmed greens from Richmond New May Wah, and I decided that I would use not only garlic, but also Chinese rice wine (like Shiaoxing) and chicken broth in the sauteé. And, by the grace of god — it worked, and I turned out a beautiful dish of sauteed snow pea leaves, nutty and savory with just the right amount of crunch and saltiness. I had a huge bowlful for dinner that night, much in the way your average American might eat a salad for supper.

Preparation is easy if you have a nicely-trimmed bagful — all you need to do is rinse; but in the event you find yourself with longish stalks and skinny, wiry tendrils, make sure to pluck off and use only the leaves themselves. Sautee a lot of chopped garlic in a fair amount of oil. Wait until the garlic begins to brown and smell yummy; then add the pea leaves, salt. When the vegetable is on its way to wilting, add a splash or two or three of chicken broth, then some similar splashes of chinese rice wine. Stir and toss until the greens look — done.