Japanese edamame and snow pea salad

I was very pleasantly surprised to see snow peas in a grocery store in Hyderabad. Of course, I had to get a few boxes. I love this vegetable. It has sweetness and a crunchy texture, and its season is so fleeting.

Let's start with the difference between peas, snow peas and sugar snap peas. We are all familiar with peas, shelling peas or typical garden peas; we only eat the inner peas, discarding the tough outer pods. Snow peas are very thin, with minute peas clearly outlined on the pods, but the pods are completely flat. Sugar snap peas, conversely, are thicker with a more "puffy" appearance and have larger peas that are not clearly defined. You can eat the whole pea pod for snow and sugar snap peas. From a flavour perspective, the sugar snap peas are generally sweeter and have a fleshier pod with more texture. In fact, the sugar snap peas were developed by crossing the snow pea with the garden pea. Finally, a small trivia fact for us nerdy chefs: peas are one of the most genetically studied plants, initially used by Mendel to prove his theories on genetics and the inheritance of physical traits. For this recipe you can use both snow peas or sugar snap peas.

Like every recipe I have cooked from Diana Henry, this one is absolutely delicious. Subtle flavours dominate this meal, but the spices are balanced. This was my first Diana Henry cookbook, and after making a couple of recipes from it, I was addicted to her cooking. The recipes include flavours and cuisines from around the world, and her writing style is fun and easy. Like this recipe, the dishes are amazing and step away from the ordinary.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons miso paste (white, if available)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon peanut oil, or olive oil

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon ginger paste

2/3 cup frozen edamame

1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, stringed and cut at an angle into 1-inch pieces

2-3 radishes, sliced into circles

Salt, to taste, careful the miso can be pretty salty

A handful of arugula or Mizuna

See the video on how to string snow or sugar snap peas.

Make the dressing by mixing the miso, rice vinegar, peanut oil, water, honey and ginger to form a thick-ish dressing. Set aside.

Cook the edamame in 2 cups water till they are no longer raw but still retain a bite, about 3-5 minutes. Remove, drain and cool. Set aside.

Toss the edamame, snow peas, and radishes. Just before you are ready to serve the salad, layer a bowl with the salad leaves. Toss the edamame mix with the dressing. Load the salad onto the leaves and serve immediately.