Asparagus and Mushrooms with Black Bean Sauce
1 min readWhen one of my most playful students, Kathy, submitted the inspiration for this recipe, I told her she was psychic—how else could she have known that asparagus and mushrooms are, in my mind, a match made in heaven? Shaoxing rice wine is available in Asian markets and some well-stocked supermarkets. Dry sherry, sake, or dry white wine can be substituted, if necessary.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 pound medium-thick asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1⁄4 pound fresh shiitake, cremini, or cultivated white mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
3 tablespoons black bean paste
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine, sake, dry sherry or dry white wine
In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus until barely softened, about 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Set aside. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add the asparagus and mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly, until asparagus is crisp-tender and mushrooms have begun to release their liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the remaining ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, until heated through and slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve at once.
{PER SERVING} Calories 69 • Protein 3g • Total Fat 4g • Sat Fat 1g • Cholesterol 0mg • Carbohydrate 7g • Dietary Fiber 2g • Sodium 293mg
