Did you ever grab a snow pea off the vine and just eat it? Some of my favorite memories from gardening as a child. Maybe that is why I still love them in my salad. And I love grabbing the sweet pea sprouts to toss in my lunch all of the time. They are so amazingly yummy, and socked full of nutrition. It's a rare Asian green that we don't often make enough use out of. They also don't have that bitter flavor you often get from your greens, which makes it a nice alternative to using baby spinach in your green smoothie in the morning.

Asian Snow Pea Garden Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh garden snow peas, washed and strings trimmed off
1/2 cup carrots, cut into very thin strips
1/2 cup red bell peppers, cut into very thin strips
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 tsp algae oil
1 Tbsp organic pink Fijian ginger root
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, your choice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 Tbsp Lankanto brown sugar
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (optional, may substitute with 1 Tbsp more soy sauce)
Kosher salt to taste
Hemp seeds for garnish

Directions:

Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set in sink.
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil.
Prepare snap peas by dropping them in rapidly boiling water for just 20 seconds; immediately drain and dump into the ice bath, then drain in colander completely.
Put prepared peas into a large salad bowl with the carrots, red bell peppers, and water chestnuts, cover, and keep cool.
To prepare dressing, put algae oil in a skillet over medium heat, add ginger and mushrooms and saute until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook an additional 1 minute.
Stir in coconut aminos, brown sugar, oyster sauce (if using), taste, and add salt if desired.  Allow mixture to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until well blended. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Prepare salad by adding dressing to fresh vegetables in salad bowl, tossing to combine.
Serve on individual chilled salad plates with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds on each salad.


Don't be afraid to use the pea sprouts all year as they are my favorite salad ingredient by far. And a favorite for my Salad In A Jar parties.