Make these crunchy garlic stir fry snow peas for a quick and easy side dish.
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This 3-ingredient recipe goes great with any main dish but particularly with Chinese or Japanese flavors.
Serve them alongside this lemon tofu, teriyaki tofu, vegetable spring rolls or vegan hot and sour soup.
Stir fry snow peas have a delicious crunch and are a great dish for springtime when snow peas are at their peak and cheapest - especially if you grow them in your garden!
Ingredients
You’ll need just three ingredients for this super quick and easy garlic snow peas recipe!
Snow peas: You’ll need 200 grams of fresh snow peas. That’s about 7 ounces. Mine came pre-trimmed but if yours don’t you’ll want to cut off either tip and pull the string out.
Garlic: I only use garlic to flavor these stir fry snow peas. A couple of minced cloves is enough. You can also use a mix of ginger and garlic for a more Asian flavor profile.
Salt: A pinch of sea salt to bring together all the flavors.
Oil: I prefer to use high-heat neutral oil for stir frying (sunflower, canola, avocado, vegetable oil, etc.). I don’t use olive oil.
How to make stir fry snow peas
It takes just 10 minutes to prepare these garlic snow peas!
Prep: Sometimes snow peas come already trimmed. If not, you’ll want to trim the pea pods because the strings can be tough to chew.
Cut both ends off the snow peas and pull the strings out of the sides.
Here is a post with photos if you need assistance visualizing.
Optional: I like to keep my snow peas whole but you can slice them in half with a diagonal cut if desired.
Mince the two cloves of garlic.
Stir fry: To avoid accidentally burning the garlic, I like to start by stir frying the snow peas first.
Heat a couple teaspoons of oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the snow peas and stir to coat in oil. Fry, stirring very frequently, until the snow peas have a crisp-tender texture - about 2 to 3 minutes.
They cook very fast!
Push the snow peas to the edges of the pan and add the garlic into the middle of the pan.
If the pan seems dry, drizzle the garlic with a touch of oil.
Fry the garlic until soft and fragrant - about 30 seconds.
Mix the snow peas and garlic together, season with a pinch of salt and serve!
Variations and substitutions
Aromatics: Replace one of the cloves of garlic with an equal amount of minced ginger.
Seasoning: Finish with a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Replace the salt with a splash of soy sauce. Add red chili flakes or chili crisp for a hint of spice.
Garnish: Sprinkle over some white or black sesame seeds or chopped scallions.
Vegetables: Add other vegetables to your stir fried snow peas: mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, bok choy, baby corn, bamboo shoots, or water chestnuts are all good vegetables for stir fry.
FAQs
Cut each end off the snow peas. Then use a knife to grab the thin string from one side of the pea and pull it off. Repeat with the other side.
Snow peas are flat and thin while sugar snap peas are thick and round. Both can be stir fried and eaten whole. Snow peas cook faster. You can substitute snap peas for snow peas in this garlic snow pea recipe if desired but they will need to be cooked a bit longer.
Make ahead and storage tips
Snow peas are best eaten as soon after purchasing or harvesting as possible.
To save time you can trim the peas and keep them in an airtight container until ready to cook.
Once cooked, these stir fry snow peas will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing stir fry snow peas but you can freeze fresh snow peas for up to 6 months for stir frying later.
How to serve stir fry snow peas
These garlic snow peas make a great side dish to practically any main dish.
Add them as a vegetable component to your grain bowl or Buddha bowl.
They especially combine well with Asian tofu, rice and noodle dishes.
Try them alongside this maple chili tofu, vegan bibimbap, vegan potstickers, vegan Japanese curry or vegetable spring rolls.
Stir Fry Snow Peas
Ingredients
- 200 grams (7 oz) fresh snow peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Trim the ends off the snow peas and pull out the strings.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the snow peas and fry, while stirring, until bright green and crisp-tender - about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Push the peas to the sides of the pan and add the minced garlic in the middle of the pan. Add a small drizzle of oil over the garlic if necessary.
- Fry the garlic until soft and fragrant - about 30 seconds.
- Mix together the peas and garlic and season with a pinch of salt.
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