In the Philippines, the hot, dry season comes at the same time as Lent, in which Catholics are urged to observe fasting and abstinence from meat. This obligation has many of us scrambling for recipes that don’t use meat.

I have a few such recipes and I bring them out whenever needed, most especially the period of sacrifice and self denial that culminates in Holy Week.

One recipe I sometimes cook for a no-meat meal: snow peas with shrimps. This is best cooked with fresh snow peas (or snap peas). That way, they’ll be crisp when cooked. Luckily, I found some freshly harvested peas during a recent trip to Baguio.

Snow Peas with Shrimps

16 pc medium-size shrimps
200 g snow peas (or green peas or snap peas)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Peel the shrimps and remove the heads. Cut a shallow slit on the inner part of the shrimps then pick out the dark veins. Set aside.

Trim the peas: Remove the stems as well as the tendrils on the sides.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or skillet, then sauté the onion for one to two minutes over low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and continue sautéing until fragrant, about one minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Turn up the heat, then add the peeled shrimps. Stir-fry until the shrimps are half cooked. Add the peas and pour in the oyster sauce. Season with sugar and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir fry for about one minute, until the shrimps are fully cooked and the peas are still crisp.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot. Makes three to four servings.