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Blistered Shishito Peppers

These Japanese Blistered Shishito Peppers take less than 5 minutes to make and are the perfect finger food to spice up your day!

roasted shishito peppers in a cast iron dish with white bowl of dipping sauce

If you are looking for a quick snack to spice up your day, or your night, then check out my pan blistered shishito peppers. Not to mention that you will be getting your servings of veggies!!

What are Shishito peppers?

A long and slender finger-like pepper, similar to a Padrón pepper. Harvested while bright green, they have a paper think skin that are perfect for snacking.

What do they taste like?

Generally on the bright and sweet side, with a little spice. Are they generally hot? The peppers have a heat scale similar to a banana pepper but 1 in 8 can be really spicy so be careful!

The level of heat is determined by the temperature and humidity levels. It certainly is exciting eating them and guessing if you will get a spicy one.

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overhead picture of roasted shishito peppers in a cast iron dish with white bowl of dipping sauce

My first taste of Japanese shishito peppers was at my new favorite Fusion restaurant that serves small tapas-style plates. How fitting!

Perfectly blistered and served with dried bonito flakes and a pumpkin seed sauce are as mouth-watering as they sound. This was the inspiration for making this recipe.

Can you eat shishito peppers raw?

You can certainly eat them raw. Much like a skinny bell pepper they have a great snap, but my favorite way is blistered. Just be careful, you are gambling with the heat.

Ways To Cook Shishito Peppers

A few great ways to prepare the peppers include:

  1. On the grill in a grill basket.
  2. Stewed in soy sauce.
  3. Broiled in the oven.
  4. Blistered in a screaming hot skillet.

I don’t have a large flat top in my kitchen so I will stick with my trusty large cast iron skillet.

The last one is my favorite mostly because I am partial to my skillet. The more I use it, the better it gets!

overhead picture of roasted shishito peppers in a cast iron skillet with white bowl of dipping sauce

5 minutes is all it takes!

How to Make Blistered Shishito Peppers

First: Get your pan screaming hot.

Second: Toss your peppers in some oil, and then throw them in the pan.

Third: Stir the peppers around, flipping them every so often, until you get beautiful blistered peppers.

For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

It is perfectly ok that they are not evenly blistered all the way around. You really just want some char on them and heat them through.

The heat of the peppers comes through as you sear them because you are blistering them whole. Do not stem and seed them beforehand because those stems make great handles to use to get them to your mouth.

hand dipping a roasted shishito pepper garnished with sesame seeds in a white bowl of ponzu dipping sauce

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Ponzu Dipping Sauce

A lot of shishito pepper recipes have a creamy dip to go with them. The ones I love at Sumo Maya come already dressed in a soy pepita sauce that is sweet, salty, and oh so perfect.

I decided to make a dipping sauce, not a creamy one mind you, as I want to keep the flavor of the peppers as pure as possible.

My ginger ponzu dipping sauce is a simple mixture of Ponzu, minced ginger, and a dash of Sriracha. If you are already sweating from the heat of the peppers, feel free to leave out the Sriracha and just use the ponzu and ginger.

Are shishito peppers healthy?

Now, these are a snack I can eat by the bucket full. Too bad they only come in 6-ounce packages here.

I guess I should be thankful to get them at all and not complain about the package size. You’ll be eating your veggies and they are gluten-free!

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!

shishito peppers in a cast iron dish with text "blistered shishito peppers"

If you are lucky enough to come across some shishito peppers in your grocery store or farmers market, grab them quickly and pan-blister them for an amazing snack!  Did I mention that they are veggies and gluten-free?

Easy Finger Foods

close up of shishito peppers in a casst iron skillet

Pan Blistered Shishito Peppers with Ginger Ponzu Dipping Sauce

Yield: 4 servings
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

This gluten-free pan blistered shishito peppers recipe take less than 5 minutes to make and will spice up your day!

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces shishito peppers
  • 1 tablespoons avocado oil (canola or coconut will work too)
  • 1/2 cup ponzu
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 green onion (sliced thin)
  • sesame seeds (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Get your 8-inch or larger skillet screaming hot on the stove top or grill.
  2. Toss your shishito peppers in the oil.
  3. Add your shishito peppers to the pan and stir or shake them around for 4-5 minutes or until they are blistered and charred.
  4. Remove from the pan and place on the serving dish.
  5. Mix together your dipping sauce by whisking together the ponzu and minced ginger.
  6. Add your sliced green onion for a little flavor boost and to make the sauce look pretty.
  7. Enjoy your shishito peppers warm or at room temperature.

Notes

*If you like this recipe, please leave me a comment and rate it with some stars.  Thank you!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

This nutrition information was generated via a third party, Nutritionix, and can not be held liable for any discrepancies in the information provided.

{Originally posted 10/20/17 – photos and recipe notes updated 05/22/20}

TakeTwoTapas.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

Dawn

Tuesday 21st of August 2018

I've never had Shishito peppers but am excited to try them. I love my skillet too!

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