Stir-Fried Garlic Snow Pea Shoots with Crabmeat | Wok Wednesdays

To celebrate the second anniversary of Wok Wednesdays, our fearless leader, Matthew, chose this rich crab and snow pea shoot stir-fry. As Grace Young, the author of Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge (the book from which we cook) describes it, "This is one of the most decadent of stir-fry dishes, reserved for special occasions."

Snow pea shoots should not be confused with pea sprouts. Thank goodness Grace posted a photo of pea shoots on the Facebook page, or I might have gotten confused. As a public service (I give and I give some more), I show you the difference below ...

The pea sprouts are on the left, and the pea shoots are on the right. I discovered pea sprouts a while back when I needed a substitute for bean sprouts, and love them in salads and sandwiches (as always, be sure to wash any sprouts thoroughly).

Snow pea shoots are best in the spring, while they are still tender. You'll need to cut off any stems that are not tender. To me, the flavor resembled greens, although not as strong.

This dish is very simple to make and does not call for a lot of ingredients. Chicken broth is thickened with cornstarch, an egg white is swirled in, and then you add lump crab meat. Once you've cooked the crab, you stir fry the pea shoots and garlic for about 2 to 3 minutes, move them to your serving dish, and ladle the crabmeat in the center.

This dish was rich and delicious (it tastes way better than it looks). We had some leftovers, so I made a frittata the next day with them. Pretty amazing!

Happy two year anniversary Grace and Matt! Thanks for all of your wok wisdom!

Because the Wok Wednesdays participants have agreed not to publish the recipes, to get the specifics, you'll need to purchase Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge, or check it out at your library. You won't regret it!