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.

Continue reading →