Pea Vines

Pea vine is hard to find outside of asian grocery stores, but it's excellent stir-fried with garlic and mirin. It has a delicate flavor that combines peas and lettuce with the heartiness of spinach. Emily often orders this dish off the secret menu at Chinese Restaurants and I got really spoiled with the quality of the greens. She has told me that the pea vine dish is actually a good indicator of the overall quality of the restaurant.

 

I have to admit that the greens I bought (above) at the farmer's market were not nearly as good as the ones I've enjoyed with Emily. I think my first mistake is that I bought ones with flowers - they looked so magical I didn't think of their significance - but the reality of flowering vines is that the stem is too mature to be stir-fried in this manner. But my dish was completely edible and Charlie said he didn't mind the stems.

I bought a second bunch later with no flowers.
 

And I really enjoyed them the second time round.