Pea shoots

Pisum sativum · Leafy green

40 pairings

Pea shoots (Pisum sativum), known in Chinese as dou miao, are the tender growing tips of the garden-pea vine — the top few centimetres of leaf, stem and curling tendril picked before the plant sets pods. Sweet, grassy and unmistakably of fresh green peas, they are stir-fried hard and fast with garlic across southern China and Hong Kong, and tossed raw into salads in the West, where they are sold as a distinct and prized leafy green in their own right.

Picking a good onedrag

Springy, tendrils curledYellow, limp, dropping leaves

Shop freshThe all-rounder — raw, or into a screaming-hot wok with garlic.Everyday best

Leaf and tendrilGreen, tendrils opening out

The bunchSoft, but the tips still lift

Stem snapSnaps only near the tip, lower stem bends

Smell at the leafFaintly green, pea note only close up

What to look for, from springy, tendrils curled to yellow, limp, dropping leaves.

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 2× longer than the counter.

Humidity

98–100%

Near-saturated, 98–100%: a loose bag or a damp cloth in the crisper. In dry fridge air the leaves and tendrils go limp within hours.

Airflow

Loose bag, never sealed

Loose in a perforated bag, never packed down: they bruise where they press, and surface water trapped against the leaves starts soft rot.

Yellows beside ripening fruit

It makes almost none itself but is moderately sensitive: ethylene off apples, pears and bananas yellows the leaves and speeds decay.

Preparing