Description
Szechuan Asparagus with garlic, ginger, dried chilies, stir-fried and topped with roasted peanuts is a fast, easy vegan side dish that will spice up your dinner. Serve it with rice and crispy tofu (or chicken), and it becomes a quick and flavorful meal.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 10–15 dried red chilies, chopped or whole.
Stir Fry Sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoon Mirin ( rice wine)
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed szechuan peppercorns ( or use regular pepper)
- 1 tsp fermented, salted black beans (totally optional)
- Garnish: 2 scallions, chopped and 1/3 cup roasted crushed peanuts
Instructions
- Trim off tough ends of asparagus and cut into 2 inch pieces. Chop ginger and garlic. Chop scallions. Crush peanuts. Get all your other ingredients ready to use by the stove top. * If using green beans see note below*
- In a wok, heat peanut oil on nigh heat until it just begins to smoke. Turn heat to medium high. Add ginger, and stir constantly for 30 seconds, to prevent browning. Add garlic, stir another 30 seconds to one minute until golden brown. Turn heat to medium. Add asparagus, stir 2-3 minutes.
- Add chilies and rice wine. Then add remaining ingredients (except for peanuts and scallions). Stir until asparagus is al dente and liquid has reduced.
- Garnish with peanuts and scallions.
Notes
* If using green beans or long beans, sauté them in the peanut oil before adding the ginger and garlic. (They take longer to cook than asparagus.) Remove them from the oil when just tender, about 5 minutes, and set them aside. Then sauté ginger and garlic, following the recipe above, and adding the green beans back in the wok after all the other ingredients have been stirred together and reduced a little.
Nutrition
- Calories: 198