Mild and sweet, they’re a delicious, quick, easy snack, side dish, or appetizer.
These blistered shishito peppers are perfect little snack bites!
They take less than 10 minutes to prepare.
Elise Bauer
What Are Shishito Peppers?
They’re a thin-skinned, sweet pepper from Japan.
I say sweet, butabout one in ten of the peppers are spicy.
Elise Bauer
Not as hot as a jalapeno, but enough to make your tongue tingle.
Our local Whole Foods also carries them.
The Perfect Appetizer Bites
Shishito peppers are sort of boring raw, honestly.
Elise Bauer
But seared so the skin blisters up in dark bubbly patches?
Blistered shishitos are perfect little appetizer bites.
They even come with their own handle.
Elise Bauer
Just hold them by the stem and pop them in your mouth.
Eat them seeds and all.
Can Padron Peppers Be Substituted for Shishitos?
Padron peppers and shishitos look very much alike.
The most important difference from a culinary perspective is the level of heat.
You would prepare padrons exactly the same way, blistering them in a hot pan with a little oil.
What Else Can You Make With Shishito Peppers?
you’re free to stir-fry them with other vegetables.
you’re free to include them with the tomatoes in a gazpacho.
So if you want, you’ve got the option to easily serve them with a dipping sauce.
Heat a well seasoned cast iron (or a pan that can take high heat) on high heat.
When the pan is hot, add the peppers to the pan in a single layer.
Remove to a bowl and sprinkle the shishito peppers with salt.
Add a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar* to the pan.
Pour over the blistered shishito peppers.
*Balsamic vinegar can be syrupy and sweet, or thin and acidic.
Use the syrupy kind.
