Out of the Box: Sugar Snap Pea & Carrot Stir-Fry

By: Amie Simon | July 20 2010
Posted in Seattle - Cook It - Seattle

Summer has finally arrived in Seattle (better late than never!) and the hot, sunny days continue to make me crave light meals that take as little time to cook as possible. Luckily, my CSA delivery has been helping out by sending great veggie and fruit options.

Photo: Amie Simon

Sweet Memories
When I was little, my grandma had a small garden and we would pick sugar snap peas and eat them straight off the vine together. I loved their crunchy, sweet taste—pods and all. I've never tried to grow them, but I was pleased to see a bunch arrive in my delivery box this week. I wanted to make something simple and quick, so I grabbed the bunch of carrots that also arrived and started putting together a stir-fry for dinner.

Something New
I stopped at one of my local farmers markets this week and noticed something new: garlic curls! I couldn't resist grabbing some--at only $2 a bunch, why not? Something about the long, green stalks ending in a pointy yellowish tip appealed to me. Garlic curls (also called scapes) are the immature flower stalks of garlic, and are a lot milder than their bulb counterparts. You can use the entire stalk and flower in your dish for great flavor.

Easy Stir Fry

Ingredients
2-3 carrots
7-8 large sugar snap peas
2 garlic curls
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons shredded ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 ounces pork loin
1 cup rice

Directions
Slice pork and combine in a deep bowl with soy and fish sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and let it marinate in your fridge while you chop the carrots and garlic curls into thin slices. Reserve some carrot and grate into a bowl, adding the grated ginger on top. Rather than cut my sugar snap peas, I just snapped off the strings and left them whole.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, adding garlic curls and carrots. Sauté for about 2 minutes, than add the pork. Cook for another 8-10 minutes, then add peas and toss together for 1-3 minutes (you don't want to cook the peas too long to make sure they retain their crunchiness).

Photo: Amie Simon

Serve
Layer rice, pork, and veggies in a bowl and top with grated carrot and ginger -- the colors, shapes and textures lend themselves really nicely to a gorgeous presentation. The fresh topping complements the dish, and makes your kitchen smell delicious.