Fiddlehead Fern Recipe Stir-Fry with Garlic Ginger Shrimp
This is a 20-minute weeknight dinner built around one of spring’s most fleeting ingredients. Fiddlehead ferns get blanched, then tossed into a hot pan with garlic, ginger, and shrimp, and served over quick-cooking rice noodles with sesame oil and a scatter of red pepper flakes. It’s fast, savory, and completely seasonal. Fiddlehead season is short – this is exactly the kind of recipe to have ready when they show up at the farmers market. I like to keep my fiddleheads intact when cooking them. There’s something about a tightly furled frond on the plate that feels like spring in the most specific, fleeting way.
Fiddleheads used in recipes can be baked, sauteed, fried, and stewed. I prefer for aesthetic reasons to keep my fiddleheads intact when using fiddlehead ferns in recipes.
“The fiddlehead season is fleeting and in my opinion gone too soon, so I enjoy the novelty of a tightly furled frond on my kitchen table and plate.“
One Step You Cannot Skip
Always blanch fiddleheads before cooking them in any recipe. Raw fiddleheads contain trace amounts of a natural toxin that is fully removed by boiling. In this recipe, blanching also locks in their vibrant green color with a quick ice bath – so it’s doing double duty.
Do not skip the blanch.
Boil for 5 minutes, drain, and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. From there the rest of the recipe moves quickly.
What do Fiddlehead Ferns Taste Like?
If you are asking “What do Fiddleheads taste Like?” Fiddleheads have a flavor that is akin to green beans, asparagus and broccoli rabe, with a touch of earthiness and a moss like smell. Keep this flavor profile of the fern in mind if you chose to create some fiddlehead recipes of your own. This foraged fronded vegetable lends itself wonderfully to multiple cuisines and cooking techniques.
Gather your ingredients for this Fiddlehead Stir-fry Recipe:
This is a super quick, easy recipe to incorporate fiddlehead fern into appetizers or an enticing entree with delicious results. Gathering all of the ingredients together will make throwing this stir-fry dish together a snap! Any rice noodles will do here, I prefer a medium flat variety, the sauce sticks to the noodle creating a sumptuous, stick to your belly one pan meal.
How to Use Fiddleheads in a Recipe:
How to use Fiddlehead fern recipes? Fiddleheads can be sauteed, baked, fried, or slow cooked into a soup, the kitchen techniques you can use fiddleheads in a recipe is quite extensive! This recipe uses sauteing for quick, simple, healthy dinner or lunch option. A few simple ingredients pull this recipe together fast and really let the flavor of the fiddlehead shine.
Shrimp adds protein and rice noodles are a light carbohydrate that mixes well with the other ingredients. As always I instruct to blanch the fiddleheads for several minutes to remove any unknown toxins before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
Where to Find Fiddleheads:
Where to find fiddleheads? Emerging in the early spring, fiddleheads are one of the first signs of spring. Protruding from the ground amid last years now browned fern leaves, they have a tell tale curled appearance. Fiddleheads are the furled fronds of a young fern, and several varieties are edible. The most commonly consumed fiddleheads come from the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), known for their distinct flavor and texture. It’s important to properly identify ferns before consuming them, as not all varieties are safe to eat.
If you are not a forager: Fiddleheads are readily available at most farmers markets, farm stands and surprisingly Hannaford Supermarkets, if you are in the North East.
Foraging ingredients is a great way to add a variety of new flavors to your recipe rotation. This post is all about picked wild spring violets and their many uses in the kitchen.
Another early spring foraged ingredient is ramps. Ramps are full of garlicky flavor and their fleeting short season make them a unique ingredient when they are available.
I use ramps to make a garlicky pesto filed with pistachios.
This creamy foraged ramp sauce is really a do anything condiment. I have topped pasta and pizza with it, it’s an extremely versatile spring recipe filled with foraged ramps as the star ingredient.
Want to learn more about foraging wild food and using foraged ingredients in recipes? Check out my full spring guide here: A Spring Foraging Guide – Ramps, Morels, Fiddleheads, Violets and More
Do I need to blanch fiddleheads before stir-frying?
Yes, always. Boiling for 5 minutes removes a natural toxin found in raw fiddleheads. This applies to every fiddlehead recipe regardless of cooking method.
Can I find fiddleheads at specialty grocery stores?
Yes — farmers markets and farm stands are the most reliable source during spring, but many specialty grocery stores and co-ops carry them seasonally. In the Northeast, Hannaford Supermarkets often stocks them when they’re in season.
Can I substitute another protein for shrimp?
Yes — thinly sliced chicken, tofu, or scallops all work well here. Keep the garlic and ginger quantities the same and adjust cook time accordingly.
Can I use dried or frozen fiddleheads?
Frozen fiddleheads work well — thaw completely and pat dry before blanching. Canned fiddleheads exist but the texture is quite soft and not ideal for stir-frying.
Spring is short and the season moves fast – here’s what else is worth cooking right now:
Pea Shoots – How to Use, Cook, and Preserve Pea Shoots
Ramps – Cook the Season: Everything You Need to Know About Ramps
Rhubarb – Poached Salmon with Honeyed Rhubarb Yogurt
Fiddleheads – Crispy Baked Fiddlehead Ferns with Parmesan and Lemon
Cook the season – spring is here.
Made this recipe? Leave a comment below.
Fiddlehead Fern Recipe Stir-Fry with Garlic Ginger Shrimp
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan
Ingredients
Blanch Fiddleheads
- 1 Bowl of ice water several 7-10 ice cubes in large bowl with about 2 cups of water poured over
- 1/2 Pound Fresh Fiddlehead Ferns
Fiddlehead Shrimp Stir-Fry
- 10 Medium Shrimp
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1 tsp soy sauce or coconut amino
- 1 tbsp Vegetable or Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Water
- 4 oz Rice Noodles, or half a pack of a normal sized rice noodles any size will do, I prefer medium, but feel free to use what you have on hand
- 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds garnish
- Red Pepper Flakes garnish
Instructions
Blanching Fiddleheads
- Firstly, blanch your fiddleheads to remove any unknown toxins. To do this fill a sauce pan with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and strain. Immediately dump fiddleheads into a bowl of ice water. this will not only remove the toxin, but the ice bath will shock the fiddleheads into remaining a vibrant, green color.
Fiddlehead Shrimp Stir-Fry
- Peel and finely mince garlic and ginger, set aside
- Heat frying pan to medium heat and add tablespoon of oil.
- Add ginger and garlic to hot pan, I prefer to scrap my ginger and garlic into the pan using the same knife I used to chop the ingredients, I find that helps cut down on dishes that need to be cleaned.
- Next add the shrimp to the frying pan and let sizzle up until the shrimp turn a light pink color.
- While shrimp cook, cook noodles in a separate small saucepan, until just al dente.
- Add 1 tablespoon water, soy sauce or aminos whichever you are using, and stir. Cook for 3 more minutes, until water is cooked down.
- Add Fiddleheads and lightly toss to incorporate.
- Strain the rice noodles and add to the frying pan along with the toasted sesame oil. Mix into the stir-fry and place equal portions into 2 separate plates. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes and enjoy!
Nutrition
looks amazing and attractive. heading to grocery to get the ingredients. excited to try this one soon. 🙂
I’ve heard that fiddlehead ferns are really good, but I have yet to find any in my area. Do you know if they’re available at specialty stores?
I absolutely love Fiddlehead Ferns! This is an amazing recipe and the flavors are just brilliant. I am so happy to have found it, thank you so much!
This was my first time making fiddlehead fern and it was excellent! Such a fun new ingredient!