Shishito Peppers with Soy Ginger Sauce
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Blistered Shishito Peppers cooked in Soy Ginger Sauce are an Asian restaurant favorite that you easily make at home with this 20 minute recipe! Serve these tasty peppers as an easy appetizer or side dish!
Table of contents
Over the years I’ve turned hundreds of friends and family members on to the deliciousness that is a Shishito Pepper! Ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but lets just say I’ve introduced a lot of people to these amazing little peppers and everyone has loved them!
What are shishito peppers?
Shishito peppers are a sweet pepper from East Asia, often served as a starter at popular sushi restaurants such as Nobu, Ra and Katsuya.
Up until a couple of years ago, I was only able to find fresh shishitos at the Asian markets around San Diego. Now I see them at most major grocery stores, including Sprouts and Trader Joe’s.
How to cook them
You can roast shishito peppers in the oven or saute them on the stove. Either way, you want the outside skin of the peppers to be blistered before serving.
For this shishito pepper recipe, I saute the peppers on the stove for 10 minutes. I then add the soy ginger sauce and continue cooking for another 7-10 minutes for the sauce to thicken and glaze the peppers.
Recipe tips
- Make sure the peppers are dry before adding them to the hot skillet with oil. Any water on the peppers, left over from rinsing them, will splatter when you add the peppers to the skillet.
- Do not add the glaze too early in the cooking process. This will cause the glaze to burn and stick to the bottom of the skillet.
- You can make these shishito peppers without the glaze. Shishito peppers are delicious simply cooked in oil and finished with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt.
Frequently asked questions
- Are shishito peppers hot? The fun thing about these peppers is that they’re a mild, sweet pepper, yet about one in every ten is spicy! Surprise! I call them the “Russian roulette” of peppers because you never know when you’re going to get a spicy one!
- Can you eat the peppers raw? Sure! Serve them with your next veggie tray or dip them into hummus for a snack. The texture of a raw shishito pepper is crisp like a green bell pepper.
- How many calories are in shishito peppers? By themselves, shishito peppers are 90 calories per pound. In this recipe, with the soy ginger sauce, they’re 68 calories per serving. One serving is approximately a quarter pound of shishitos. At under 100 calories per serving these Soy Ginger Shishitos are perfect as a healthy appetizer or snack. If you’re looking for a full meal, be sure to try this Shrimp & Shishito Pepper Stir Fry, also light and healthy and made in just 20 minutes!
What to serve them with
Shishito peppers are a delicious side dish to pair with any of these Asian main dishes!
Don’t forget to pin these Soy Ginger Shishito Peppers for later and when you make them, be sure to share a pic on Instagram and tag me @WhitneyBond or use the hashtag #WBRecipes!
Soy Ginger Shishito Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sesame oil, divided
- 1 lb shishito peppers
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
Optional Topping
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Add 1 tsp sesame oil to a large skillet or wok on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the shishito peppers and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the remaining 1 tsp sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, lime juice and ginger together in a small bowl to form the sauce.
- After the shishitos have sautéed for 10 minutes, pour the sauce over the shishito peppers.
- Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 7-10 minutes or until peppers are tender and blistering on the outside.
Optional Toasted Panko Topping
- Add panko breadcrumbs to a small skillet over medium-high heat. Allow to toast in the skillet for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the shishito peppers and serve.
Video
Notes
- The nutritional information provided does not include toasted panko breadcrumbs.
- Use tamari instead of soy sauce & omit the panko breadcrumbs to make this recipe gluten free.
Nutrition Facts
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21 Comments on “Shishito Peppers with Soy Ginger Sauce”
This is one of easiest sites to navigate – really appreciate the easy to find Jump to Recipe link. The site also lists nutritional information which is hard to find on most others. The best part is Whitney’s use of fresh and, just as important, easily found ingredients.
Oooooh, I love the looks of these! What a fun summer treat! Love the sauce, too!
Ahhh…these delightful shishito peppers in soy ginger sauce had my taste buds overflowing with happiness! I’m making another beautiful batch this weekend to share at a dinner party.
I LOVE Shishito peppers so much and whenever I see it on menus out it’s almost always prepared the exact same way. So nice to see a unique recipe that really sounds good. I’ll be checking this out once my Shishitos are ready to pick in the garden this year.
In the first step you sauté what do you sauté them in and how much of whatever that ingredient is?
Hi Allyson, I simply sauté them in a dry skillet, then add the sauce after 2-3 minutes.
Just made this and let me tell you – THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Great recipe. The glaze is so flavorful and really compliments the peppers.
Thank you so much Colett! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
just bought a new bottle of honey. Will retry at a lower heat. Will let you know.
I was really looking forward to having these. I made them today but my honey carmalized and everything for the sauce came together in one gloppy burnt mess! Any ideas? Could it have been because I used the honey at the bottom of the bottle, where it had crystallized somewhat?
Hi Rita,
That was probably what happened or your heat might have been a little too high. I’m sorry that happened. I’ve made these several times and never had this problem. Hopefully you can try it again with some fresh honey for better results!
I had the same burnt caramelization problem. I also used the bottom of the honey bottle. Weird. I am going to try again, because the taste of the sauce (before I burnt it) was so good!
Hi Ereina, I’m sorry that happened! I would definitely try fresh honey and slightly lower heat next time.
LOVE this recipe! I’m working on eating the entire pound by myself! We’ve been getting these little peppers in our CSA box frequently this summer and I haven’t tried anything except roasting them. This is so easy and incredibly flavorful! Thanks!
In the recipe it says to sauté the peppers. What do you sauté them in? Sesame oil?
Hi Matt, you could sauté them in a little sesame oil, I simply dry sauté them for 2-3 minutes, then add the sauce to continue sautéing them. Enjoy 🙂
Tried these last night and they were so good they stole the spotlight from the rest of the Japanese-inspired dishes I served. The sauce seems like it would be good on a variety of veggies. This one goes in my recipe book!
Thanks so much Rhiannon! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the shishitos, they are one of my all-time favorites!
About how many servings does this recipe make?
This recipe will serve about 4 people as a side dish or appetizer, enjoy 🙂
Love shishito peppers! And yes, they are hard to come by. I love this simple restaurant-style recipe!