Sort peas to make sure there's no rocks. Put them in cold water and bring the water to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the peas soak for an hour or more.
Turn the heat back on and bring the peas to a gentle simmer. Mince the garlic. Dice the onion. Fry the garlic until aromatic, then add onions and fry until translucent. Dice carrots. Add everything to the pot with peas.
Fry the ham steak to bring out the flavor (optional.) Add to pot.
Simmer until peas are mushy - about one hour. Simmer longer to let flavors blend if you have time. Finish soup by adding salt, pepper, sugar, and sriracha sauce.
The soup can taste a little bitter and bland until the salt and sugar get added. If it's drab, add a little more–the soup will really be delicious once it's spiced properly.
(key point: peas cook separately in pressure cooker for 15 min.)
I have an instant pot now, and here's how I did it with the instant pot.
Fry the onion, carrot, and I also used a red bell pepper. Once things are kind of soft, add the ham and fry that too.
Add the split peas to the instant pot along with one scoop of the veggie-ham mix. The veggies will get mushy, but I wanted a few in because they help flavor the peas as they cook. I also added a bay leaf.
I pressure cooked the peas for 15 min, which was plenty long enough. Then I added the rest of the veggie ham mix and put it on slow cooker mode for a few minutes for everythig to blend and the veggies to get just a little softer.
It was really good this way!