Garlic Sesame Pan-Fried Shishito Peppers
Get out your cast-iron skillet and whip up a batch of Garlic Sesame Pan-Fried Shishito Peppers! These mild peppers, cooked with garlic and sesame make a great appetizer or side dish to your entrée.
Garlic Sesame Pan-Fried Shishito Peppers are super versatile. They make an excellent appetizer – kind of like how you get edamame (soy beans) at a sushi place so you have something to gnaw on while you’re waiting for your food to arrive.
These peppers are a perfect side-kick to Asian entrees like stir-fry, teriyaki chicken, or yakisoba noodles. They also make a great snack.
Me, I like to eat them right out of the pan! Joking. Well, kind of. I do like to eat them screaming hot and fresh out of the pan, but then again I also have a hard time not burning my fingers grabbing a 375-degree cookie off the baking sheet, but I digress…
It’s difficult to describe how Shishito peppers taste because they’re not spicy like a jalapeno or serrano and they’re not sweet like a bell pepper.
Shishitos are super mild and remind me of roasted pumpkin seeds in how they take on the flavors you season them with. They’re the perfect vehicle for the flavors in this recipe like garlic, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.
Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down for complete recipe):
- Shishito peppers
- Garlic
- Toasted sesame oil
- Olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Salt, pepper
Looking for more snack/appetizer recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Sausage Stuffed Sweet Mini Peppers
- Spicy Korean Deviled Eggs
- Chile de Arbol Tomatillo Salsa (shown below)
- Cinnamon Almond Granola
- Toasted Za’atar Pita Chips
NOTES:
- Although 99% of shishito peppers are totally mild, some say that there is the rare one in a hundred that turns out really hot. I haven’t gotten a spicy one…yet!
- Regular sesame seeds don’t have the amazing nutty flavor and slight crispness that toasted sesame seeds have. Make sure you’re using toasted sesame seeds for this recipe.
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥ I also have a fun Facebook group for us foodies to share recipes and talk about food. I’d love to have you! Request to join HERE. Cheers!
Garlic Sesame Pan-Fried Shishito Peppers
Ingredients
- 10 oz package of raw shishito peppers
- 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- salt & pepper
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat a cast-iron skillet to med-high heat. Add both types of oil to the pan and when pan is hot, add the shishito peppers. Stir them around so they all have some oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Once you see that they are starting to blister, move them around frequently so they don't burn.
- Once the majority of the peppers have blistered, reduce the heat to medium and add the red pepper flakes and garlic to the pan. The pan will be really hot, so keep stirring everything around so the garlic does not burn. When the garlic has softened and has cooked, they are done. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the peppers and eat immediately, or store in the fridge for a couple days. Enjoy!
