If you like appetizers, peppers, and minimal work….you may just have found your calling with Blistered Shishito Peppers. These mild and grassy peppers are super popular right now, showing up in menus, cookbooks, and almost every Food Network show from the Pioneer Lady to Chopped.
The simplicity, flavor, and versatility of the Shishito Pepper will make this dish an immediate “go to” for almost any occasion. First, lets talk peppers. The Shishito is a mild pepper. We are talking a rating of 13 to 160 on the Scoville scale. So, think about your average green bell pepper being a zero and the Shishito pepper being somewhere in the 13 to 160 range. You can also judge the heat against the old trusty jalapeno pepper, which can range from 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale. I guess the point here is that the Shishito is mild, really mild. A jalapeno will be about 10 to 150 times hotter. Now keep in mind that all peppers (no matter what kind) can vary in how hot they taste. Some jalapenos are hotter than others, and likewise, every so often you can find a Shishito pepper that is a good bit hotter than the others in your bunch. With all this in mind, even the hottest Shishito pepper is not going to ruin your day or light your face on fire….you may get a little bit of a surprise with a random pepper…but nothing to worry about.
Where can you find these awesome little peppers? I have seen Shishito peppers at my local farmer’s market from early summer through fall. I have also seen them in the big box grocery stores (they tend to be seasonal here too). And lastly, I have seen them year-round in a little Asian grocery store nearby. They usually sell them right next to the jalapeno peppers….careful, they look similar…
Now to the easy part….the blistering….or cooking… Really, this is about as easy as it gets……..
- Wash and dry your peppers. Getting them dry will help them blister/char (wet peppers will “steam” rather than “blister”.
- Use a fork and poke a hole in each pepper. This is SUPER IMPORTANT….this will keep them from exploding and flying out of your pan….yes…..don’t ask me how I know…
- Get about a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your pan (cast iron works great here…but any pan will do), spread the oil around evenly. You can use any oil that has a high smoke point (canola, avocado, grapeseed, or even sesame oil if you want to give the peppers a little Asian flavor).
- Get that pan hot…real hot…but not so hot that the oil is smoking.
- Add your peppers to the hot pan and stir so they are evenly coated in the oil. You should hear some sizzle going on here.
- Be careful not to crowd the pan with too many peppers, you want them to have some room to breathe.
- I usually cook my peppers about 10-12 minutes, stirring them often. You want them to be blistered and/or charred. My rule of thumb is to have about 50% of the pepper blistered or “charred”.
Well, that is it for the instructions. Pull the peppers off the heat, salt them liberally….trust me here, add a lot of salt….a flaky sea salt works best. A squeeze of fresh lemon….and you are good to go. I have seen them served with a dipping sauce, my kids will dip them in a buttermilk ranch, you can add some sriracha to liven them up…but they are great just how they are. Try topping with our Sriracha Salt Recipe for a little added punch, or some Lime Salt to change it up….. The nice salty/peppery taste is PERFECT with ice cold beer or they go great with a nice wine/cheese/charcuterie plate. Oh….almost forgot….eat them with your hands…..just don’t eat the stem!
Thanks for reading, leave us a note to let us know how your peppers turned out.
~C