Ottawa
June/July 2005
BITE: Snow Pea Tips
It is rare indeed to stumble across a new vegetable, so I was immediately intrigued when the words “snow pea tips” began appearing on the specials board at my Chinese food haunt, Jadeland (625 Somerset St., 233-0204). Of course, snow peas are nothing new, but what are the tips? And how do they taste? As it turns out, snow pea tips are the tender, leafy top few inches of the pea plant that are traditionally grown in Asia. Increasingly available in North America, they are sometimes called pea vines. Apparently they can be eaten raw, but at Jadeland, the dish arrives steaming hot and sleek with oil from the wok, pungent with garlic. The vegetable is barely wilted, sweet and astoundingly green-tasting, as though it had been freshly picked that day. I once heard someone refer to this dish as catnip for humans, but I’d say that’s an understatement. Meow. --- Shawna Wagman
