Easy Blistered Shishito Peppers Recipe: Master the Art of This Summer Fave
This blistered shishito pepper recipe is seriously simple. It requires only three ingredients—okay, four if you want to include the ponzu sauce. It's so easy you can delegate it to a willing guest at your next BBQ. Tip: Enjoy with a cold beer in hand.
This barely spicy blistered shishito peppers recipe will brighten up your menu all summer long. While the grill’s fired up, you check out our detailed rundown on how to grill vegetables to perfection, as well as our guide for finding humane meat for grilling season. As for these peppers, they’re healthy, easy to eat, and VERY easy to make. All you need is lemon, salt, and a heat source.
These peppers work best on a hot grill but can also use a very hot frying pan with a bit of oil. Shishito peppers are native to Japan and are prized for their mild flavor. Unlike other sweet pepper varieties like bells, shishito peppers are small and delicate. They resemble a jalapeño pepper in size but are much lighter in color and have an almost shriveled appearance. Because the actual walls of the body are so thin, shishitos are very light.
If you ask us, this shishito peppers recipe would be incredible served up with some of our all time grill game faves: grilled artichokes with gremolata, easy chicken kabobs with chimichurri (are you seeing a theme here? It’s all about the sauce!) and our world famous (probably) quinoa black bean veggie burger.
Oh, and you can’t forget a summer cocktail, why not switch up your usual for something a little different — mezcal. It’s like tequila but better.
How to Find, Serve Up, and Eat Your Blistered Shishito Peppers
It’s best to cook them whole with the stems on and instruct your guests to eat each pepper in two bites, seeds and all, right down to the stem. Make sure you have bamboo skewers on hand and to pre-soaked them.
You can often find organic shishito peppers at farmers markets and at Japanese markets. They are delicious charred on their own or dipped in a citrusy soy sauce called ponzu (which you can find in most health food stores or a Japanese market).
If you don’t want to mess around with skewers, we love using this grill pan by Made In or cooking them up on this griddle by Made In. Both are made from safe carbon steel and can hold up to the high heat of grilling without leaching toxic chemicals into your food.
Blistered Shishito Peppers Recipe: The Method
Ingredients
Preparation
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a charcoal or gas grill.
- Pierce each pepper through the center with the skewer so that 5-6 peppers stack on each skewer.
- Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until charred.
- Squeeze lemon on top and add a pinch of salt. Serve with ponzu sauce.
- Alternate method if you don’t have a grill: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat.
- Add the peppers in a single layer to the skillet and fry for about 3 minutes, then stir so the peppers char on all sides.
- Cook for a total of 8-10 minutes, remove from pan, squeeze lemon juice on top and add a hearty pinch of salt.
- Repeat until all peppers are cooked.
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