Gingered Snow Peas (Australia)

A fast, weeknight-friendly stir-fry of crisp snow peas, mushrooms, and green onion in a bright ginger-sherry sauce. The clever bit here is the reduced chicken stock that replaces most of the cooking oil, giving the vegetables rich flavor with less fat.

Reducing the chicken stock with a garlic clove first is the technique to pay attention to. Boiling down ¾ cup of stock to ¼ cup concentrates the savory flavor, infuses the garlic gently, and creates a glaze-worthy base for the stir-fry. Discarding the garlic clove at the end leaves the flavor without the chunks.

Fresh ginger is non-negotiable. Powdered ginger brings nothing but heat to this dish; fresh sliced ginger delivers the bright, almost citrusy notes that play against the sweet snow peas and earthy mushrooms.

Kitchen Tips

• Use fresh snow peas, not canned. Canned snow peas are already cooked and turn to mush in the wok. Fresh pods stay crisp with 3-4 minutes of high heat.
• Trim the tough string along the side of each snow pea before cooking. Nobody likes unintended fiber.
• Stir-fry over real high heat in a hot wok. Steaming (low heat, crowded pan) makes a different dish.

Variations

• Swap sherry for mirin or rice wine for a Japanese-leaning flavor.
• Add thinly sliced water chestnuts or sliced bamboo shoots for more Asian stir-fry texture.
• Stir in a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil at the end for nutty aromatic finish.