Pea shoots is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 2 recipes to get you started.

What are pea shoots?

Pea shoots are the tender young leaves and stems of the pea plant, picked along with their curling tendrils while everything is still soft enough to eat. They taste like a mild, fresh pea: sweet and grassy, with a snappy crispness in the stems.

You will see them two ways. As delicate microgreens just a few inches tall, and as longer, leafier shoots with visible tendrils, the kind piled high at farmers markets and Asian groceries.

Either way they are eaten as a green, raw or barely cooked. They are a staple of Chinese cooking, where they are known as dou miao.

How to Use Pea Shoots

Raw, they are a salad green with personality. Toss the tender tips into a leafy salad, scatter them over a noodle bowl, or pile them on a sandwich for a sweet pea note and a bit of crunch.

They work beautifully in a Ginger Prawn & Noodle Salad, where their freshness lifts the whole plate.

Cooked, the rule is speed. Pea shoots wilt almost the instant they hit heat, so a fast stir-fry or saute is all they want.

Get a pan good and hot, add a little oil and garlic, then toss the shoots for thirty to sixty seconds until they just collapse and turn glossy green.

That quick wilt is exactly how they are served in Chinese restaurants, stir-fried with garlic as dou miao, and how they fold into dishes like Cheng-Du Tender Chicken near the very end. Add them last so they keep their color and bite.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Pea shoots love bright, clean flavors. Garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and a salty hit of soy or fish sauce all suit them. They also pair naturally with the other things peas love, from spring onion to prawns to a soft scramble of eggs.

The biggest mistake is overcooking. Leave them in the pan even a minute too long and they go from glossy and green to dark and slimy, so pull them the moment they wilt.

The other is using the tough end of an older shoot. The bottom inch of a long, mature stem can be stringy and fibrous, so pinch off and discard any part that does not snap cleanly.

Substitutes

There is no exact match, but a few greens get you close. Watercress brings a similar fresh, peppery green note raw; for the sweet side, baby spinach or fresh shelled peas echo the flavor better.

For cooking, baby spinach is the easiest swap. It wilts fast in the same way, though it lacks the pea sweetness and the tendril texture.

Fresh or frozen peas stirred in give the truest pea flavor when shoots are out of season, even if they bring none of the leafy texture.

Buying and Storing

Look for shoots that are perky and vivid green, with no yellowing or sliminess. The stems should snap rather than bend, a sign they are fresh and tender rather than old and stringy.

Pea shoots are highly perishable, among the shortest-lived greens you can buy. Plan to use them within a day or two of buying for the best texture and flavor.

To stretch them a little, wrap the shoots loosely in a damp paper towel, slip them into a bag or container, and keep them in the crisper drawer. Wash them only right before you use them, since extra moisture sitting on the leaves only speeds the slide to slimy.

Quick facts

In Chinese

豌豆苗

British (UK) term

Pea shoots

en français

pousses de pois

en español

brotes de guisantes

Recipes using pea shoots

There are 2 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 2 recipes