Shrimp & Asparagus Stir-fry

In my March 9, 2012 blog about asparagus I posted a salad recipe and offered suggestions on roasting, grilling and steaming asparagus, but I completely forgot about a stir-fry recipe. So here is an easy and simple stir-fry recipe featuring asparagus. The finished dish has only 2 items on the plate – shrimp and asparagus. Also, take note, there is no soy sauce in this dish.

Visit again tomorrow for a vegetarian version.

This recipe cooks up in less than 15 minutes so do have everything prepped before you fire up the wok or frying pan. All the prep work can be done ahead of time even the day before, allowing you the opportunity to veg out and step into the kitchen 15 minutes before you are going to serve.

If you are serving this dish over rice remember to allow for the rice cooking time.

Shrimp & Asparugus Stir-fry

Ingredients
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and pat dry with clean paper towels (this is an important step)
½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground white or black pepper or to taste (for this dish, I prefer white)
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Combine all the above well. Can be done the day before and kept refrigerated.

1 – 1½ pounds asparagus, peeled and slant cut into about ½ inch thick slices
2 – 3 scallions, smash white part with the flat of the knife, cut, green and white parts, into 2-inch lengths
6 – 8 slices ginger from ginger wine or a thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
3 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
2 – 3 tablespoons oil
½ – ¾ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons broth or water. Stir well before adding to wok or frying pan.

Preparations
1. In a preheated wok or frying pan add 2 tablespoons oil. Add scallion, ginger and garlic. Stir fry, using medium heat until garlic is lightly browned. Remove and discard scallion, ginger and garlic. (This is referred to as flavoring the oil.)
2. Turn heat to high, add shrimp. Stir fry until shrimp changes color. Remove shrimp (leaving oil behind, if posssible) to a clean platter and set aside.
3. Add oil, if needed, to wok or frying pan. Add salt and asparagus. Stir-fry until asparagus turns a bright green color, adding broth 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed if wok or frying pan is dry and to prevent burning.
4. Add shrimp and broth, as needed for gravy, bring to a boil. Thicken with cornstarch mixture. Serve over cooked rice.

VARIATION –  Shrimp, Asparagus & Pasta Stir-fry

Additional Ingredients
12 – 16 ounces gemelli pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions
1 – 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
¼ – 1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce or to taste

Additional Preparations
∞ Add oyster sauce and chili sauce to broth. Do not use cornstarch mixture.
∞ Cook pasta and drain.
∞ While pasta is cooking, prepare shrimp and asparagus as per recipe above.
∞ During Step 4, after broth comes to a boil, add drained pasta, mix well, adjust taste and serve.

The goal is to have the pasta cooked when you reach step 4. That is the ideal situation, but if it is not possible do not stress yourself out. Pasta can be made  ahead of time, even the day before, zap in the microwave to reheat, then add during step 4.

You may also like the following asparagus recipes:
Click here for Asparagus Salad
Click here for Marinated Tofu, Asparagus & Portabella Mushroom Stir-fry

Copyright © by Norma Chang

Robin, The Gardener of Eden, is the host for Thursdays Kitchen Cupboard. Head on over to Thursday’s Kitchen Cupboard to see what others are cooking.