Snow Pea Salad

I love this snow pea salad for it’s fresh crunchiness and brightness.

I also love the Asian inspired vinaigrette dressing poured over it.

It’s something a little different. I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for new and interesting salad recipes, especially in warmer weather.

I get tired of serving the same old salads, so this snow pea salad recipe is a refreshing addition to my salad repertoire.

In this really tasty recipe, snow peas are paired with fresh radishes, cucumbers and an Asian flavored vinaigrette. It’s a really nice combination. A bit unexpected because we don’t often see mixed salad recipes with these ingredients.

The snow peas are crisp and crunchy. The recipe calls for them to be blanched by cooking them in salted water for just 30 seconds, then immediately taking them out. They should retain their crispness and a bright green color.

Snow peas have thin shells and can just as easily be eaten raw, so no need to cook them if you don’t want to. I do like them just slightly cooked (blanched) for this recipe, but as I often say, suit your own taste buds.

Fresh radishes are a nice addition to this summer salad recipe. Radishes also crunch to the salad too, but also bring a bit of heat. The radishes pair really well with the snow peas and Asian style dressing on the salad.

Cucumber is the last fresh vegetable we add to this unique salad.

I like to slice both the cucumber and the radishes very thinly for this salad. Mix all of the vegetables together well and add a really lovely vinaigrette dressing with a touch of toasted sesame oil.

You will find both sesame oil and toasted sesame oil on the grocery store shelves. Either will work, but I tend to prefer the deeper, richer flavor of the toasted sesame oil.

A little sesame oil goes a long way, so this is one of those ingredients where more isn’t always better. I would suggest sticking to the amount of sesame oil called for in the recipe at first, then see if your taste buds want more.

Toasted sesame seeds are the last ingredient in this wonderful Asian style summer salad recipe. To toast the sesame seeds, place them in a dry saucepan over medium low heat. Watch them carefully and remove them from the heat as soon as the sesame seeds start to brown just a bit.

Toasting the sesame seeds adds a richer, deeper flavor to the seeds. Sprinkle them over the salad just before serving and watch how much flavor they add to this great salad.

Snow peas and snap peas (often known as sugar snap peas) are very similar and often confused. So what is the difference between snow peas and snap peas?

What Are Snow Peas and Snap Peas?

There are a few differences between snow peas and snap peas. Both are peas with an edible pod and are members of the legume family.

Snow peas are flat and have thin pods with very small peas inside. They are basically a variety of pea pods harvested while they are still unripe.

Snow peas are thought to have originated in Asia.

They can be eaten raw or cooked and are used often in Asian style recipes like stir fries.

Snap peas, sometimes called sugar snap peas because of their slightly sweet flavor, have a thicker wall and larger peas inside, still not as large as fully ripened peas, but larger than snow peas.

They are a cross between snow peas and garden peas.

The outer thicker pod is edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. Snow peas have a nice crunchy texture and are usually just lightly cooked so they still retain that crispness.

Snap peas are a cross between snow peas and garden peas. The whole pod is eaten and has a crunchy texture and sweet flavor.

Both of these peas are a good source of fiber, antioxidants and other phytonutrients.

You can interchange the snow peas and snap peas in this recipe. Use either one or a mixture of both.

The taste is pretty much the same regardless of which pea you choose.

How To Cook Snow Peas

Both snow peas and snap peas can be boiled or stir fried.

To blanch the peas place them in a pot of boiling water. Cook for a very short period of time – about 30 seconds for snow peas, slightly longer for snap peas.

Some people add just a pinch of sugar to the water when boiling snap peas or snow peas because it can brighten their flavor. I have never done that and love the taste as it is. As I’ve said before, just suit your own taste buds.

Once the peas are cooking, it’s important to stop the cooking process right away so they retain their bright color and crunchy texture. To do that you can immediately put the blanched snow peas in ice water or rinse them in cold water.

Snow peas or snap peas can also be cooked in a steamer basket over boiling water for a similar length of time.

Both types of peas are also wonderful stir fried, where they are also only lightly cooked.

Snow peas or snap peas are almost never cooked through until they are soft. The are always served either raw or lightly cooked.

Before cooking snow peas I always trim the ends off. I usually leave them whole but you can slice them in half, or smaller slices if it works best in your recipe.

For this snow pea salad I just leave them whole. I think they look wonderful in the salad that way.

I hope you enjoy this refreshingly different salad recipe. Another great one to add to your personal cookbook.

If you like this snow pea salad, you might also like our broccoli, bok choy and snow pea stir fry. Get the recipe for that here.

You will find all of our Asian inspired recipes here.

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