Stir-fried Sweet Peas and Mushrooms with Ginger and Spring Onions

I'm glad that spring is here because it means that I can get fresh peas (sweet peas, English peas, fava beans, etc.) at the Farmers Market and that I can finally try out this stir-fry recipe that I saw in Periplus' Homestyle Chinese Cooking cookbook. It says in the book that "snowpeas and mushrooms are a classic combination in Chinese cuisine because they harmonize opposite yin and yang qualities in three different ways: flavors (sweet and smokey), textures (crispy and mushy), colors (bright green and dark brown)" and I kind of agree with that. I used sweet peas instead of snow peas and added fried yellow tofu to add some meatiness to the dish. I really love this cookbook because it has a lot of great recipes that are not like the typical greasy Chinese food available at restaurants.


Ingredients:
1 lb fresh sweet peas
1 lb fresh Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 package of fried yellow tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-inch ginger, slice into fine shreds
4 green onions, cut into 1-inch sections
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

• Wash the sweet peas, snap off the tips and pull away the strings from each sides.
• Clean the mushroom with damp cloth to remove any grit and dirt and cut in half
• Combine the soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, salt and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a pot of boiling water, quickly blanch the sweet peas for 30 seconds and shock them in ice cold water to keep the bright green color.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan until hot and then add in the mushroom and ginger slices, stir fry for 2 minutes.
• Add the sauce and the tofu cubes and cook for another minute.
• Add the blanched sweet peas and the green onion and stir fry for a couple more minutes.
• Transfer to a serving dish.