Blistered Shishito Peppers With Dipping Sauce

This blistered shishito peppers recipe with dipping sauce is an easy appetizer, snack, or side dish that’s ready in just 10 minutes.

You’ll find blistered shishitos on the appetizer menu at many Japanese restaurants.

Sometimes they’re seasoned with soy sauce, citrus, togarashi, and flaky salt, and other times they’re served with some kind of creamy dipping sauce, which I find to be the best shishito pepper dip to balance out the flavors.

These mild peppers are in the same plant family as bell peppers. On the Scoville scale (heat scale), they’re mostly mild, but the general rule is that 1 in 10 shishito peppers is spicy, which kind of turns into a game of Russian roulette.

While you can make roasted shishito peppers in the oven, I find it easiest to cook them on the stove top since they cook so quickly.

Ingredients

• Shishito peppers – an East Asia variety of small green peppers with a semi-wrinkled appearance and a subtly sweet flavor. You can find them loose at the farmers market and Asian markets or in a bag in the produce section near other peppers in many grocery stores.
• Avocado oil – has a high smoke point and neutral flavor.
• Tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos – just a little for added flavor.
• Creamy tahini lime dipping sauce – a combination of olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, miso paste, rice vinegar, tahini, honey, and salt.
• Flaky sea salt – for serving.

You can find the full recipe (including the sauce recipe) with measurements in the recipe card.

How To Make Shishito Peppers

Step 1. In a small bowl whisk together all the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Step 2. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. While the pan heats up, wash and dry the peppers with a towel and add them to a large bowl along with the avocado oil. Toss to coat the peppers.

Step 3. Once the pan is hot, add the oiled peppers to the skillet, turning them occasionally until they’re nicely blistered and lightly charred, about 7-8 minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add a drizzle of tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos.

Step 4. Remove the blistered shishitos from the heat and season with flaky salt. Serve with the dipping sauce and an extra bowl to discard the stems.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.

How can you make these shishito peppers using what you already have? Here are some ideas…

• No shishito peppers? – though not the same, you can also use Spanish Padron peppers, which have a smokey, earthy, more complex flavor. Their taste is as mild as a green bell pepper, but 1 in 10 peppers is wildly hot.
• No limes? – you can also also use lemon juice.
• No honey? – use maple syrup.
• Add-ins – red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce for a bit of heat, or toasted sesame seeds for an extra crunch.

How to Store

Store leftover blistered shishito peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store the sauce separately. 

How to Serve

This shishito peppers recipe makes a great side dish to serve with crispy chicken, spicy tuna with crispy rice, lemon butter fish, or sushi salad.

Helpful Tips

Toss with the oil first. If you add the oil to the pan and then add the peppers, it becomes a little more dangerous because the blistering peppers cause the oil to splatter. So to avoid this, toss the peppers in the oil first.

How to test if the pan is hot enough. Flick some water on the surface of the pan, if it sizzles and evaporates right away, you’re good to go.

More Great Appetizers

• Zucchini Pancakes
• Smoked Salmon Dip
• Avocado Toast With Marinated Tomatoes