Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Chopped Nuts and Ginger



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know, I know. I'm really am sorry. Today's photo is dull and less vibrant than I'd like it to be. While planning for the week, I made a mental note to photograph this dish before it was tossed with soy sauce. My intent was lost somewhere between the drawing board and the wok, and as you can see, I mechanically added soy sauce to the pan, giving the asparagus and nuts the exact hue I was trying to avoid. I do things like that. All the time. Fortunately, all that's hurt is my pride, and the photo is a more accurate depiction of the finished dish than my staged attempt would have been. I'm on my own for supper tonight and this is the type of dish I like to make when Bob is not home. We both like this stir-fry, but while I consider it an entree, he considers it a side dish, and that can make dinner more complicated than I like it to be. I had this with a bowl of steamed rice and it made for a wonderful meal, one, I might add, that is perfect for Meatless Monday. Asparagus floods our local markets at this time of year and it can be purchased for less than $3 a pound. I take advantage of the season while it lasts. This is an especially easy dish to make. It uses ingredients that can be found in any grocery store and can be table ready in less than 30 minutes. I use tamari when I make this, but regular soy sauce can be used as a substitute. More information about tamari can be found here. I find it to be more flavorful regular soy sauce, so I keep a supply of it on hand. The only caution I have to share with you regarding this recipe, is a reminder not to overcook the asparagus. Make sure your wok or pan is hot before adding oil to it. This step prevents food from sticking to the pan as you stir-fry. If you have all the ingredients ready to go, this comes together in seconds. It should be served immediately. While cashews are more authentically Asian, you can use peanuts or cashews to make this dish. While there is no true substitute for the nuts, water chestnuts or sunflower seed kernels can be added to provide texture for those who are allergic to them. I know that those of you who try this dish will love it. Here's the recipe.

Stir Fried Asparagus with Chopped Nuts and Ginger...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds asparagus, cleaned and diagonally cut into 1 -1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1/2 cup salted peanuts or cashews, chopped

Directions:
1) Heat a wok or frying pan. Add vegetable and sesame oil and heat until oil shimmers.
2) Add ginger and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
3) Add asparagus and cook for 4 minutes, until barely tender and still bright green. Stir in nuts and tamari or soy sauce. Cook 2 minutes longer. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 to 3 main course servings.








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Asparagus Salad with Hard-Boiled Egg - Coconut and Lime
Asparagus Risotto - Vegalicious Recipes

68 comments :

The Glamorous Gourmet said...

I think your photo is fabulous and appreciate you keeping it real:) I am presently looking for more asparagus recipes and can't wait to try this one - thanks for the link to the others as well:) Looking forward to your next delicious post - Cheers!

David said...

Mary... We love asparagus and this is a great way to enjoy it with a culinary twist! Looks and sounds delicious... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Alessandra said...

I like the photo and I like the recipe. I would use cashew, I think that they are perfect for Chinese style food (and I prefer them to peanuts)!

Ciao
Alessandra

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Hahaha. It's same in my household. Sometimes it's a lot easier to eat by myself as I can eat let's say veggies as main dish, while my husband and kids would say where is our dinner (but this never happened before, but I'm just guessing). I would totally enjoy this as dinner. A bowl of rice and stir-fried veggies! I love it.

Christine's Pantry said...

I think the photo great. Nothing wrong with it, at all. Your recipe looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Christina Kim said...

What are you talking about?? Your photo looks good already, and it's asparagus we are talking about here:) You did an awesome job with the asparagus and also with the photo!:D
We like!!:)

Pondside said...

This looks delicious. I like to stir fry asparagus, but haven't tried it with ginger or soy sauce. I like the sound of it! Soon the asparagus will be easy to find here too.

Banana Wonder said...

we are our own biggest critics - your photo looks nom! i love the combination you got going on here. Must try this with the nuts and asparagus.. yum! happy meatless monday.

Anonymous said...

I think this is a perfect supper - and I love the finished article photograph :)

Junibears said...

The photo looks great to me, as do all your photos of finished dishes!
Asparagus is very expensive here, it's considered a luxury food. I love the sound of your recipe. made my mouth water so that must be good, eh?
Hugs xx

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant stir fry - I love asparagus but have not used it for a stir fry before - great idea and I think your photo is just perfect.
:-) Mandy

Diane said...

The perfect dish, I am off to see how much asparagus there is in the garden this morning. Diane

Sunanda said...

It looks healthy and delicious but here we rarely get it..

Sunanda's Kitchen

Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

I don't know what you mean when you say this photo is dull... It definitely makes my mouth water! I don't think I've seen a recipe with asparagus and nuts before. Not on it's own anyway. Sounds soo delicious :)

Priya Suresh said...

Wonderful stir fry,love the additions of nuts..

Clint said...

Looks good to me! We love asparagus, and this recipe looks wonderful and simple. Thank you!

Prema said...

Healthy stir fry,very tempting click...

Linda Starr said...

oh that dull soy, ha, looks good to me.

Maris(In Good Taste) said...

This is so not dull! Very delicious and appealing dish.

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I think the photo and the recipe both look delicious.

Fondlyh,
glenda

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, yum! I'm always searching for new ways to dish up one of my favorite veggies. I'm copying this one to try soon! Happy Tuesday, Mary~

A Bitchin' Kitchen said...

This looks so tasty, and I think the photo still looks good! Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables.

- Maggie

Unknown said...

This could be a whole meal for me! It looks delish and I love all the flavor combinations! Thanks!

James Brewer said...

I think you photo looks great to me - I wouldn't worry. You can't beat asparagus when it is bang in season like it is now - and this is a brilliant way to enjoy it.

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

Wow, that is a gorgeous dish of asparagus, nothing wrong going on here! Can't wait to make this. Thanks Mary.

Cooking Creation said...

I don't care what you say; that asparagus looks so good! :)

penny aka jeroxie said...

And some call this a main dish :)

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

The photo looks delicious, makes me want to have some of that delicious dish!

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

just gorgeous! I love the color and freshness of this one!

Big Dude said...

Looks like a terrific use of asparagus Mary.

The Harried Cook said...

I love asparagus, and it's probably my favorite vegetable. But it is so expensive here! The next time I get my hands on asparagus, I am trying this.. I love the addition of nuts! Yummy! Thanks for sharing, Mary!

lena said...

the photo looks alright. stir frying the asparagus are also quite common here and i can actually see that you cook this asparagus so much better than me!!

veron said...

Asparagus is our go-to vegetable because it's tasty on its own. Love to find new recipes for it though and this looks delish!

Unknown said...

My mom would be so happy, Mary, you have made me WANT to eat asparagus!! I don't care what you say about the photo, I think it looks good and sounds even better!!
(sorry if I double commented, blogger seems to be having problems this morning)

~~louise~~ said...

Happy Asparagus Day, Mary!!! Yes indeed, today is Asparagus Day and your Stir Fry sounds and looks amazing!!!

I love the addition of tamari. I too find sometimes, soy sauce just won't do.

The farm stand down the block is suppose to have fresh asparagus today. Now I have a novel idea of preparing them.

Thank you so much for sharing...

Jocie's Mom said...

Oh, this looks good. I love stir fry, especially with ginger. It's such an easy way to have a super tasty meal (for one!) Thanks for sharing, and for your kind words for my mom :)

kitchen flavours said...

I love stir-fried asparagus but never had it with nuts before. This sounds interesting and the use of nuts gives an added crunch which I think is wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Tasha said...

What a fantastic use of asparagus. I can tell this would be a hit in our house- my husband especially loves ginger and cashews.

Erin said...

This sounds wonderful! And your pictures are amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

The color's so not dull to my untrained eye! =D The dish looks fabulous!

Lucy@The Sweet Touch said...

This is my kind of meal!!

Gloria Baker said...

I love asparagus and this look amazing, gloria

FOODalogue said...

I love doing Asian-inspired dishes, especially vegetarian, so I was enjoying reading your post...and then I came to the links and was delighted that you included my recent asparagus and leek salad. Thank you.

Lyndas recipe box said...

There's nothing wrong with the way this dish looks; I'd love to have this anytime! Like you, I would love it as a full meal, but my husband also thinks he has to have meat with every meal.

Anonymous said...

Love asparagus and the wild assparagus is coming in now! Can't wait to try this!

Cher Rockwell said...

Thank you for the variation! It is so easy to get into a rut with asparagus - what a great twist.

Anna said...

I love that this picture is an accurate representation of the dish. But then, I do like more rustic photos ;) I'll definitely try this with garlic since I am not a huge ginger fan! Looks delicious :D

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Thats a quick and yummy one...

The Blonde Duck said...

I have aspargus to use in the fridge! Perfect!

Swathi said...

Photos looks awesome. love the crunchy nuts and stir fried asparagus.

Juliana said...

Wow Mary, I love the combination of asparagus and nuts, perfect with ginger...and the picture is awesome. Have a wonderful week :-)

Faith said...

I completely agree with you about tamari sauce over soy sauce, Mary. I bet it adds such a great depth of flavor in this delicious dish! Love the nuts too.

Unknown said...

I ♥ Asparagus Mary. This recipe sounds delicious. I think the picture looks great!

Kim said...

These stired fried aspargus are a perfect complement to a meal!

Karen Harris said...

I really liked your photo. Boy, Bob really missed out on a great meal, of course I'm sure he dines pretty well with you as his cook. This looks just wonderful.

Penny said...

You are such a perfectionist that you don't realize how lovely this looks. You set the bar high, but that is to be admired by those of us who stive to be better bloggers. Thanks Mary.

Elaine said...

This looks like a perfect light dinner, Mary. Hope you have a good evening.

Wendy Irene said...

This recipe looks amazing! The combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, and nuts with the asparagus sounds like a winning combo. I usually just roast asparagus but I think this way would make it perfect to share with family and friends!

Miri Leigh said...

This asparagus looks delicious. Thanks for posting! And great photo!

Cheah said...

No, your pics are very inspiring and this dish will go very well with plain white rice!

Becky said...

Our asparagus beds are producing like crazy. I am SO making this. Just my kind of meal. Thanks, Mary.

Becky

We Are Not Martha said...

What a great idea to make asparagus a little more fun as a side dish... or a meal! I think the photo is beautiful! :)

Sues

Betty @ scrambled henfruit said...

I could definitely make a meal of this! I think your photo is just fine- I'd rather see what the finished dish looks like anyway. Asparagus is one of my favorites! :)

Kate @ Demiglazed said...

I've been looking for different ways to cook asparagus, other than my usual "grill or broil and devour, possibly topped with gremolata or butter" method, and this sounds great! I bet the cashews really add something.

And this is a DULL photo? Goodness. My photos are never nearly as beautiful and bright as yours, mostly because I can't be bothered to stop and think about staging, plating, etc when all I want to do is eat my dinner! I'm always impressed by your photos.

Lucie said...

Asparagus remains relatively expensive here in Paris--but I love it! This is a great way to enjoy it.

Susan said...

Mary, Thanks for your kind comment on my blog ... it's always nice to know that folks like what they see and read! This asparagus dish would be a side at our house too. It's perfect for this time of year, that's for certain! Our asparagus is finally coming on like gangbusters!

megi said...

The stir-fried asparagus looks great and the photo is not dull at all, it looks mouth watering! Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables, I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

Lisa~~ said...

Thanks for posting this recipe it inspired me to do something different with asparagus. I made my version (posted here: http://cooklisacook.blogspot.com/2011/05/stir-fried-asparagus-with-water.html) of your recipe and it was delicious.

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