Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas
on Jun 04, 2021, Updated Apr 10, 2024
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This three-ingredient glaze turns sugar snap peas into a silky and crunchy and umami side dish that takes 5 minutes to make!
This is one of those embarrassingly easy recipes that might change your life. I realize how dramatic that sounds. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this recipe — it’s a little magical. The three-ingredient glaze is rich and umami and silky, against the crunch of the lightly cooked sugar snaps. Did I mention that these take about 5 minutes to make?
One of my favorite easy dinners involves these sugar snap peas, a few filets of Honey Ginger Salmon or Miso Black Cod, and a steaming pot of my Perfect Rice. And the best part: you can put the whole dinner together in less than an hour! Or pair this with Vietnamese Mango Salad with Shrimp for a light meal.
Table of Contents
Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas: This three-ingredient glaze turns sugar snap peas a silky and crunchy and umami side dish that takes 5 minutes to make!
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Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas Ingredients
- Sugar snap peas – If you can’t find sugar snap peas, snow peas are a good substitute. But the sugar snaps are the best because they are the sweeter and more juicy variety!
- Butter – Soy sauce and butter might seem like an unusual combination, but it really, really works. I remember reading about it first a long time ago in a cookbook co-authored by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who was one of the first to combine classical European cooking and techniques with Asian cuisine, and Mark Bittman, of How to Cook Everything fame. I thought huh, perhaps this award-winning superstar chef is on to something. And he was.
- Soy sauce – Reduces down in the pan to create a beautiful syrupy glaze. Use less-sodium soy sauce so you can control the saltiness, or taste before adding more salt.
- Lemon juice – The lemon juice adds a great burst of fresh flavor, but it can start to turn the peas a khaki green so you want to serve them pretty fast. The flavor will remain the same, but the color will get less vibrant.
- Salt and pepper – To taste.
How to Make Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas
- Stir-fry the snap peas: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just melted. Add the snow peas and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Make the sauce: Add the soy sauce and the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the liquid reduces to a thin glaze.
- Finish: Cook, stirring, until the peas are tender but still crisp. Season with the pepper and serve. Serve immediately to prevent discoloration from the lemon juice.
FAQs
Sugar snap peas are a cross between regular garden peas and snow peas. They have fatter pods, and the peas, as well as the outer pods, are edible. Snow peas are flatter, and the peas inside are smaller and flatter. They might also be called Chinese pea pods, and you will often find them used in stir-fries. The whole thing is edible, though you should remove the tough strings that can be found on either side of the pod.
You can use snow peas fairly interchangeably with sugar snap peas, but they usually aren’t quite as sweet. Both may be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be subbed in for peas in various cooked recipes.
There will be a little stem on one end of the sugar snap pea where it was attached to the plant. In order to trim the peas, simply snap off this little stem and pull down to strip off any strings that are attached. Removing the strings will help make the peas tender and easier to eat.
It is best to use small, tender, quick-cooking vegetables for stir-frying. Because of the high temperature, the vegetables will not have time to break down over time. My favorites include snap peas, carrots, broccoli, pea shoots, and baby bok choy.
What to Serve With Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas
More Asian-Style Vegetable Recipes
- Vietnamese Cucumber Salad
- Chili Crunch Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Asian Napa Cabbage Slaw
- Japanese Miso Eggplant
- Quick & Easy Asian Bok Choy
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Soy-Glazed Sugar Snap Peas
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds sugar snap peas (strings removed)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cut each snow peas in half crosswise, on the diagonal.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just melted. Add the sugar snap peas and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the liquid reduces to a thin glaze. Cook, stirring, until the peas are tender but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Season with the pepper and serve.
Loved them. Always ate sugar snap peas raw and wanted to try something different. So easy to prepare. Can’t wait to have them again. Yummers
This is in my regular rotation as a side dish for when I’m making a stir fry (or something else) that doesn’t have a lot of vegetables in it. I don’t always cut up the peas, but it turns out great either way!
Loved it.
Shared the recipe with the farmer that gave me the peas.
I added garlic to my butter.
It’s tasty, but step 2 in the instructions is wrong. If you have a cold skillet, then add butter, it’ll melt at a very low temp, not enough to stir fry the snap peas. So change the order. Heat skillet to med-high, add butter and once melted add snap peas so you actually stir fry them.
Outstanding recipe! However, there are two typos in it. Twice it says snow peas instead of sugar snap peas.
oh man, thank you!!! fixed.
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