I've been seeing these small, mild Japanese peppers popping up on menus lately. Have you?
Shishito peppers are 2-4 inches long and taste like a bell pepper and jalapeno hybrid - a little sweet and some have a surprising (and strong!) spicy kick. Usually served roasted or pan fried until soft and sprinkled with sea salt, they are an appetizer standard at many yakitori and sushi restaurants. Lately, I've also seen them on Spanish and Lebanese menus.
However, once I tried finding them in the market, they suddenly seemed to disappear. Supermarkets were flush with jalapenos and serranos, but had never heard of the little peppers, and the vendors at several farmers' markets had no suggestions on where to find them. Finally, I found a Japanese grocery that carried them and they are fast becoming a standard appetizer in my home as well.
Have you tried shishito peppers?
• Flash-Fried Shishito Peppers at Gourmet
Related Link: Batch Roasting: How to Roast Several Peppers at Once
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I've had them many times at yakitori-ya in Tokyo. They're usually slightly blackened and a bit on the expensive side.
We serve them at the restaurant I work at in D.C. where we offer them as an appetizer grilled, or we also serve them tempura-fried and stuffed with jumbo lump crab meat and havarti cheese- very very good. They definitely have a kick to them.
I had them for the first time a couple of weeks ago at a Japanese restaurant here in Austin. I love all things spicy and couldn't stop eating them.
The spanish serve peppers called "pimientos del padron" that a bit shorter, but also sauteed and sprinkled with sea salt. Many spanish cookbooks for american audiences suggest subsittuting Japanese Shisito peppers. Given the history of the spanish bringing peppers from "the new world" to the old, my guess is that they got there first, so to speak. Regardless, delicious whether from Spain or Japan!
Been eating these for years. Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County frequently have them. I have been growing them (to miserable results) so one reason for expense is the issue with growing them. Japanese markets often have them for reasonable cost. They are very tasty and not a spicy (usually- occasionally one will have a bite) as some of the comments above suggest.
I've had a similar dish at Spanish tapas restaurants, but I haven't tried these. Sounds delicious!
I used to buy Padron peppers occassionally, but don't go to that market/vendor any more ($$$$$). Just bought some shishito's to try --cooked the same way -- on Saturday... and we are having them tonight (forgot them yesterday)... sea salt + a hot skillet
I have seen these popping up on restaurant menus lately. The first time I tried them was at our local farmers' market (in NYC), where a stand selling them had some out to sample. Very tasty! I think they would be an excellent bar snack. I haven't seen them at the grocery store, though.
For the past couple moths, the shishito and padron peppers have been all over the farmer's market here. The vendors often set up little camp stoves and cook up handfuls to sample -- best smell ever!
I usually get the shishitios -- the padrons are usually too spicy for my hubs. Tiny bit of olive oil in our cast iron dutch oven, blacken 'em, sprinkle with a little sea salt, yum! I have a bag in the fridge now, waiting...
The Vanderbilt in Brooklyn (http://www.thevanderbiltnyc.com/) serves them up blistered with a side of pimento salt. Divine!
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@Mid-C Frank - I was just thinking the same thing. I happened to try shishito peppers at a place in Chicago recently and the entire time I kept saying, "these taste EXACTLY like pimientos de padron". Just a little longer.
Oh yeah! I had them flash-fried as an appetizer at Nobu many years ago. Very light with just the right amount of spice (for me).
Mid-C Frank, you found the missing link! I'm jealous of those of you who have been able to find these at your farmers' markets. I'm going to try again in NYC, but I'm thankful to have a few great Japanese markets around in a pinch. Thanks for the feedback!
They look exactly like the peppers I've grown in my Minnesota garden the past 3-4 years, except those pepper seedlings are labeled "Banana Peppers" when I buy them. Mine usually are fairly mild--just a slight bite. So what's the difference between "Banana Peppers" and Shishito Peppers? (FWIW, I do live in an area where there are lots of Hmong and some Chinese <as well as Somali, Ethiopian and lots of Hispanics>; few or no Japanese or Spanish, though!)