Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen food blog is so popular it has landed her a regular spot in Bon Appetit magazine. We found her latest Sichuan style stir-fry to celebrate the arrival of spring asparagus in the markets so delicious, that “Serves 4 ” became instead 2 generous servings.
The asparagus is blistered in a hot pan until crisp tender. Then the ground pork is browned and combined with scallions, garlic, ginger, wine and soy sauce. We served it with rice as suggested, but not having the recommended chili crisp (sounds good) used Sriracha sauce on the side. I forgot to drizzle the finished dish with sesame oil but did sprinkle with cilantro. Any green crisp vegetable would work here; such as green beans or snap peas. If you are missing your favorite Asian restaurant during this pandemic, make this your next dinner!
3 tsp. peanut or vegetable oil, divided
2 lb. asparagus, trimmed, cut on a diagonal into 1″-2″ pieces
8 oz. ground pork
6 scallions, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 2″ piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or medium-dry sherry
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Heat 1 tsp. peanut oil in a large skillet over high. Once pan is hot (oil will be lightly smoking), add half of asparagus and a couple pinches of salt and cook, tossing only once or twice so the pieces have a chance to blister, until crisp-tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus to a plate. Add 1 tsp peanut oil to the pan (no need to wipe it out) and repeat process with remaining asparagus.
Reduce heat to medium-high; add remaining 1 tsp. peanut oil to skillet, then add pork, spreading out into an even layer. Season with a couple pinches of salt and cook, undisturbed,until meat begins to brown underneath, about 2 minutes. Break up meat with a wooden spoon and add scallions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring, until pork is crisp and mixture is very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add wine and soy sauce and return asparagus to the skillet. Cook, turning to coat with pork mixture, until heated through, about 1 minute.
Transfer stir-fry to a platter or large shallow bowl and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with rice and chili crisp.
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