Wednesday, Apr. 01, 2009

Team spear-it: It's rah, rah for stir-fry

Every spring, my husband and I have the "Great Asparagus Argument."

I want to have asparagus for dinner pretty much every night. And, well, he doesn't. I always win.

To be honest, we don't actually eat asparagus seven nights a week. But I do manage to make it quite a lot. In my book, there's nothing that says spring better than lightly steamed asparagus slathered in butter. In fact, that's pretty much the only way I ever made asparagus until I selected this week's recipe.

It's from Bon Appétit magazine, which I usually stay away from because I don't have time to make five-course meals using, say, Sichuan peppercorn or chestnut flour you have to order off the Internet three weeks in advance.

This magazine is way too complicated for me.

But this recipe, for stir-fried sesame asparagus, meets my two criteria: It's easy and it promises big flavor. How could asparagus with garlic and sesame oil go wrong?

Shopping was a breeze; everything is available at your neighborhood grocery store. Prep was quick. Chop a few cloves of garlic, trim some asparagus, throw it in a pan and you're done.

Actually stir-frying the asparagus was a bit of a problem. As one of our testers pointed out, the recipe didn't specify how hot the burner should be. I had mine turned up high -- as you would with a stir-fry -- and had the good luck to look over at the stove just as my garlic started to brown.

I turned off the heat and took a taste. I can't imagine anything better. The asparagus was crisp, and had a nutty flavor from the garlic and sesame oil.

Looks like I have a new way to make asparagus every night.

Bee staff writer Kerry McCray can be reached at 578-2358 or at kmccray@modbee.com.

I love the mixture of flavors with sesame oil and soy sauce. It's a great way to stir-fry any vegetable.

Every ingredient is strong-flavored, and each holds its own in this happy combination. One suggestion:

1 teaspoon of sugar would probably be sufficient unless you enjoy the sweetness provided by 2 teaspoons; or you could substitute teriyaki sauce for the sugar/soy sauce combination.

So good, so easy and fresh. Enjoy.

The asparagus had a sweet flavor, left my kitchen smelling delicious and had all of us going in for seconds. The recipe is quite simple to follow and could be easily adapted for outdoor cooking. I'd also recommend thin asparagus, but that may be a personal preference, so the ends become nice and crisp.

I did not think I would live to see the day that my husband would not only eat his veggies without rolling his eyes but eat THREE servings! These were delicious. I was expecting this dish to be super salty, but it was perfectly seasoned.

My family loves asparagus and we usually fry them in olive oil on the barbecue grill. I cooked it much longer than the recipe suggested, about 20 minutes on medium-low, as my family prefers it well done and not crunchy. It still came out a bit crunchier than we like, which rated it a 9 instead of a 10 with my husband.