Grilled Shishito Peppers

Yield: 4-6 appetizer servings; 3-4 side dish servings

Serve these sweet and (almost always!) mild Japanese peppers as a quick, easy, and surprisingly popular appetizer or side dish.

Ingredients

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. (See notes for skillet method.)
In a medium bowl, toss the peppers with the olive oil. You want just enough to very lightly coat. Sprinkle with kosher or sea salt to taste (I use about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt), and toss again to distribute.
Place the peppers on the grill in a single layer. (You may use a grill pan or basket, but we have carefully placed them across the grates with no lost peppers yet!) Cook for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally, or until peppers are lightly charred but still have some structure to them. (They shouldn’t flop over when you pick them up. Smaller peppers may cook more quickly.) Remove to a plate or bowl and serve them hot. To eat, pick the pepper up by the stem end and eat the whole thing, minus the stem.

To prepare in a skillet (cast iron works well), heat the oil over high heat. Add the shishito peppers, stirring or flipping them until they are lightly coated in the oil. Cook, turning the peppers in the pan, until they are tender with a hint of firmness and brown in spots, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on size. Toss with coarse salt, to taste.
You could absolutely do something fancier with these peppers, but they’re really good just like this. A friend recently mentioned that she likes to drizzle a little toasted sesame oil or soy sauce over the cooked peppers, and a simple mayo or sour cream based dip (even your favorite ranch dressing) would work well. We’ve enjoyed them with nothing more than a simple sprinkle of salt. Chop the rare leftovers and mix into an omelet or other egg dish. It’s a delicious addition!