Edible pea pods are a delicious crunchy vegetable great for a side or even a main dish and this chicken with snow peas stir-fry is no exception!
Snow peas are more commonly associated with Chinese cuisine and in my opinion are a bit more tender than sugar snap peas. Both of these edible pea pod varieties have their own merits and can be used quite interchangeably in this and other dishes.
I have memories of snow peas from my days growing up in the Catskills when I would turn over the soil for the garden every spring and we would plant three large rows of these snow pea plants.
They grew easily and fast, and soon after sowing them, we would have to put up cut tree branches to act as a trellis for the vines to climb on. Fond memories of my mom coming home from work during the week and picking a basket of these tender pods for the dinner table are still vivid in my mind today.
You can see from our other recipes that we use these snow peas in several dishes, but they are great as a main course. Leave the chicken out of this dish and you can also serve stir fried snow peas as a really easy side.
Chicken with Snow Peas: Recipe Instructions
Mix the cornstarch, light soy sauce, and oil in a bowl for the marinade. And add toss in the chicken. Set aside. For more information and preparing chicken for stir fries, see Bill’s post on Chicken velveting 101.
Mix 1/3 cup of hot water or chicken stock with cornstarch into a slurry and set aside. If you like more sauce for the rice, increase your hot water/stock and add more salt or soy sauce to taste.
Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, add a tablespoon of oil to coat the wok and spread the chicken around evenly. Let the chicken sear (don’t move the pieces) for about 60 seconds until browned on one side. If the wok is heated properly, the chicken should not stick.
Next, give the chicken a quick stir and add the minced garlic and snow peas.
Add the shaoxing wine around the rim of the wok to deglaze and stir everything together using a bottom to top folding motion for about 30 seconds.
Movement is important for the snow peas to cook evenly. The pods should be just starting to turn bright green now. Working quickly, add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and sugar. Stir to combine, about 15 seconds.
Stir up your slurry mix (the water and starch has probably separated by now) and add to the wok. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
All of the pea pods should be bright green by now. Don’t overcook or you precious pea pods will become limp and turn yellow!
Plate and serve your chicken with snow peas immediately with steamed rice.
Chicken with Snow Peas Stir-fry
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon oil
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 chicken breasts (12 ounces) (sliced into strips)
- 1/3 cup chicken stock (or water)
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pound snow peas (trimmed and washed)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Fresh ground white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Mix the cornstarch, light soy sauce, and oil in a bowl for the marinade. And add toss in the chicken. Set aside. Mix 1/3 cup of hot water or chicken stock with cornstarch into a slurry and set aside. If you like more sauce for the rice, increase your hot water/stock and add more salt or soy sauce to taste.
- Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, add a tablespoon of oil to coat the wok and spread the chicken around evenly. Let the chicken sear (don’t move the pieces) for about 60 seconds until browned on one side. If the wok is heated properly, the chicken should not stick. Next, give the chicken a quick stir and add the minced garlic and snow peas. Add the shaoxing wine around the rim of the wok to deglaze and stir everything together using a bottom to top folding motion for about 30 seconds.
- Movement is important for the snow peas to cook evenly. The pods should be just starting to turn bright green now. Working quickly, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir to combine, about 15 seconds.
- Stir up your slurry mix (the water and starch has probably separated by now) and add to the wok. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. All of the pea pods should be bright green by now. Don’t overcook or you precious pea pods will become limp and turn yellow!
- Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice.
We don’t use any alcohol in foods. What would be a good non-alcoholic substitute foe shaoxing wine or Mirin? I appreciate all the little tips you give about Chinese cooking esp the velveting techniques for meats.
Absolutely delicious! I just made this and it came out wonderful!! I have an electric ceramic cooktop and just used a frying pan but it was wonderful. I had everything in small dishes ready to go and that made it easier to keep up the speed. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Nice job Rene! having a wok is better but not required as you have shown ;-)
I’m looking forward to making this but I don’t have the shaoxing wine. Would Sake be an okay substitute?
Hi Renee, sake can be used, but remember that it is much sweeter than Shaoxing wine. Try using a dry sherry cooking wine, which is our recommended substitute for Shaoxing wine if you can’t find it.
Just made this. Wow tastes sooo good. This is my first time ever cooking with fresh snow peas I love it!!! Will make again often especially bc peas are in season
Hi Josarie, snow peas are really refreshing, and you definitely have the right idea to make this dish when snow peas are in season. Seasonal eating makes so much sense since in-season produce taste so much better :)
Great recipe, just added some ginger with the garlic and used toasted sesame oil for more flavor. Loved the brown chicken on one side then added snap peas so the chicken didn’t overcook. Got rave reviews on this one, thanks!
You’re welcome Lisa, keep up the awesome cooking!
Made this for dinner tonight–my husband and I were both thrilled!
Hi Rebecca, love hearing that you both enjoyed them and keep up the awesome cooking!
Really delicious recipe and very quick to make. I didn’t have shao xing wine so I used mirin and left out the sugar. Also didn’t have light soy sauce so I used regular low sodium soy sauce. Really enjoyed making and eating this dish. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
You’re welcome Margaret. Sounds like you made nice adjustments to use what you have.
This is delicious! Simple dish with complex flavors. Just made this with ground pork. I never ever thought I’d be able to create dishes I grew up eating. This blog is a godsend. It’s helped me so much during these crazy times, to reconnect with my roots and nurture my soul. Thank you!!!
Excellent to hear you are enjoying our recipes Julia!
Over and over again, you publish recipes that are spot-on! The flavors in this recipe were well-balanced, and it was refreshing to enjoy a stir-fry recipe which wasn’t sweetened (although I sometimes enjoy that, also). I had to substitute sliced button mushrooms for some of the peas, since I didn’t have the full amt. of peas (also had to substitute sugar snap peas for snow peas) in my fridge. Otherwise, I cooked the recipe as written. A quick and delicious and yummy weeknight meal. Made 4 good-sized portions. Please keep doing what you do because you are pros–much appreciated!
Forgot to rate this recipe–5 stars!
Hi Danni, your variation with mushrooms, snow peas and snap peas sounds delicious!