Saturday, May 08, 2010

Stir-Fry Noodles and Pea Vine Tips


Had a BEAUTIFUL day at the Farmer's Market today!! SUPER crowded with everyone and their dog (literally!) enjoying Washington State's early attempts at appropriate May weather...


My friends Danica and Heather of the fabulous Soundly Vegan blog, made the drive out to the wilds of our little town and poked around the craft stalls, food vendors and millions of tomato plants with my Middle Sprout and me.

It's still a few weeks until produce gets into full swing, but there were plenty of greens, garlic shoots, spring onions and of course, asparagus from eastern Washington.

One of the items I picked up today was tender baby pea vines, or tips (not to be confused with pea sprouts which are sprouted peas), these greens are yet another of my much-looked-forward-to spring veggies.

Pea vine tips are exactly what they sound like - the tender stems, leaves and and even the cute little tendrils of a young pea plant. They are nutritious (lots of protein!), cook in seconds and lend themselves well to stir-fries, especially with noodles (I tend to think anyway). They couldn't be much that's easier to prepare.

Plenty of recipes out there on the Interwebs, this is all I do with them though, plain and simple:


Stir-Fry Pea Vines with Noodles

  • 8 oz. package noodles of your choice (I happened to have some sort of Asian brown-rice noodle sort-of like soba noodles)
  • 1 "bunch" fresh young pea vine tips, rinsed and cut in manageable lengths (the size of the bunch is up to you)
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • Several small hot red peppers (I used Thai chilis that are pretty hot!)
  • 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • soy sauce

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat sesame oil in large skillet or wok to medium. Add peppers and garlic and stir for just a moment until it starts to infuse the oil with some flavor - do not brown the garlic!
Add pea vines and stir until just starting to cook. Add noodles and stir carefully until pea vines are cooked to your liking and noodles are hot. Add soy sauce to taste.
A little grated, fresh ginger or some sesame seeds are a nice addition if you want.

3 comments:

Dianne said...

yum! I never thought of putting little chili peppers in my stir fries. Easy and delicious looking!

Soundly Vegan said...

We had a great time at your local farmer's market. As you said, not too much produce yet, but there was a great community feel and the parade of dogs was great to see. I kept hoping I'd see a Weimaraner, but none passed by.

That dish looks lovely. I'm a big fan of pea tops and love, love, love spicy noodles.

D.

Karyn said...

HI ( I am waving to you, long time no "see")

This sounds so yummy. I know we don't have any pea vines here, heck our Farmer's Market doesn't even start until June, but I am making this for dinner tonight with asparagus instead of the vines.