My friend Anthony introduced me to shishito peppers at a Santa Monica sushi bar.
I was hooked.
Shishitos might look like hot peppers, but that’s just because we’re so used to small peppers being hot, at least here in America.
In fact, any pepper not a bell pepper is generally hot here in America.
The rest of the world has sweet, mild, vegetal, and (of course) hot peppers for us to eat. The shishito is one.
Raw is fine You can even use them for dipping. Cooking them is the better choice.
Shishito Peppers in Olive Oil and Sea Salt
Serves 2-4 people as a side dish or appetizer
Ingredients
1 pint shishito peppers, washed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
Directions
Heat a pan over medium high heat.
Add the oil.
Swirl and and add the peppers.
Shake and stir until the peppers are blistered, charred, and plenty hot. About 10-15 minutes should do it.
Toss with coarse sea salt and serve.
Eat them whole, seeds and all, but do be sure not to eat the stems.
You can find shishito peppers in well stocked markets, some Trader Joe’s, the farmers market, and in your CSA basket!
Why shouldn’t you eat the stems?
They are hard like little sticks 😉
I have always rated the stems – what is the reason not to??
You can, but they can be hard like sticks