September 1, 2019

Sesame Blistered Shishito Peppers

Hello snackers- this one’s for you! These sesame blistered shishito peppers are fantastic snack food. Mildly spicy, flavorful, sesame, and salty, they are also healthy, quick to make, and super snackable. I like to think of them as edamame’s more interesting cousin- the one with all the attitude but that’s still just as nutritious and good for you. From raw pepper to cooked pepper, they only take about 5 minutes to get to their delicious, blistered, snackable glory, and then it’s out of the pan and into the belly.

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About Shishito Peppers

Shishito peppers are an East Asian pepper that is relatively sweet, although occasionally will have a bit of kick to them. Interestingly, approximately one in ten shishito peppers will be spicy, the differences in them being caused by the amount of sunlight they were exposed to and other environmental stressors. The shishito peppers are harvested when green, although they will eventually turn red if left on the plant. Nutritionally, they are low in calories, have a decent amount of protein, no fat, contain a good amount of vitamins A and C, as well as plenty of dietary fiber. Shishito peppers have a thin skin, which will blister and blacken quickly, making blistered shishito peppers a quick and ideal way to cook these peppers. Blistering them (as we did here) can be a great method for snacking, or make a simple and beautiful summer appetizer.

It’s All About Snacking

I think everyone is a snacker in their heart, although some of us more so than others. Meals are lovely- sitting down to a big, filling plate of food is an important part of the human experience, but nibbling on bits of this and that between meals is important too. In a way, snacking is great because it’s less of a commitment than a meal, so you can be more adventurous with what you eat. Because (in theory) you’re eating less of them, snacks are often pretty unhealthy. Which is fine, but if you’re a frequent snacker, you might want to try and eat snacks that are good for you instead of potato chips or fries. These blistered shishito peppers really fit the bill here- they’re flavorful and delicious, bite-off-the-stem snackable, and best of are aren’t bad for you! They’ll even help out your eyes, thanks to the high levels of vitamin A, so you can forget about carrot sticks and go for blistered shishito peppers instead. Get snacking!

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Making Sesame Blistered Shishito Peppers

No one is going to spend hours in the kitchen to whip up a snack- and nor should you! These blistered shishito peppers are made in literally 5 minutes, and all you have to do is blister them in a skillet. No chopping, no removing seeds, no nothing. These peppers can just be bitten off the stem once cooked. To cook them, add some oil to a skillet- I used half sesame and half vegetable to give a nice sesame flavor- and cook for 5 minutes. You may want to cover the skillet with a lid, as there is a lot of spitting and flying oil that can happen when the peppers cook. Make sure to stir or toss them often, so the skin blisters at more than one point and nothing burns too much (although a little blackening is good). Be generous with your salt to bring out the shishitos best, snackable flavor, and serve warm or room temperature.

Sesame Blistered Shishito Peppers

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Sesame Blistered Shishito Peppers

Ingredients

1 pint shishito peppers, washed and patted dry
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. canola or other neutral tasting oil
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Heat the canola and sesame oil in a large skillet on medium or medium-high heat. Once it is hot (but not smoking!) add the pint of shishito peppers, covering to avoid the popping oil. Cook for about 5 minutes, tossing or stirring frequently, until the skin is blistered and darkened in places. Remove from the heat and sprinkle liberally with salt. Eat the peppers as a snack and discard the stems.