I wish asparagus season would be longer, as I like eating dishes containing fresh asparagus. When asparagus is in season it’s inexpensive and tastes delicious. You can use asparagus in many applications like soups, salads, sides, quiche, and in stir fries. I try to eat as much as I can in the spring when asparagus is abundant. I still enjoy eating them off season.

Today I will be making chicken and asparagus stir fry with peanut sauce. This stir fry is fresh, delicious, and moderately healthy — plus it is greatly loved by my son and husband.

To begin, cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts into thin slices. The chicken slices then get marinated in a few ingredients, then sautéed to golden brown. Asparagus stalks are blanched before adding them to the stir fry.

I like to use a large wok for my stir fry where I can cook all my chicken in one batch. If you don’t have a large wok, you can use a non-stick wide-mouth pan or just cook the chicken in small batches. It’s important to make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan when you cook chicken for stir fry. You want the chicken to have a golden brown crust.

This is such a delicious, light and healthy dinner that comes together pretty fast. It’s a wonderful way to showcase asparagus. Serve it over steamed or fried rice!

Stir fry sauce

• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. each sugar and chili flakes

Stir fry chicken

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 cups chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch wide, 1 1/2-inch long pieces
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 cup 1/3-inch wide, julienne yellow onions
• 3 cups trimmed asparagus, bias cut, 2-inch long pieces, blanched (read below for instruction)
• 1/4 cup green onion, 1-inch long pieces

Instructions

Stir-fry sauce

Place all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small blender and blend it until smooth. Taste for seasoning, then set aside.

How to trim asparagus

When you buy a bunch of asparagus, the ends need to be trimmed before using it in a recipe. The ends of asparagus stalks are woody and tough, and not meant to be eaten. The way to trim your asparagus is to gently bend each stalk, and the woody part snaps off easily. Once you trimmed your asparagus, you can use the stalks whole or cut them into bias as is called for in this recipe.

Blanching asparagus

Bring 8 cups of water and 1 1/2 tbsp. of salt to a rolling boil. Cooked the asparagus for minute and a half in a boiling water. After minute and a half, remove the asparagus and place it in an ice-bath. Make sure the asparagus are submerged in water. This process keeps the asparagus lush green and prevents it from over cooking.

Stir-fry chicken

In a medium shallow baking dish place chicken, soy sauce, beaten egg, water, cornstarch, and black pepper. Use a clean hands to mix all the ingredients well. Make sure not to have any cornstarch clumps. Add another tbsp. of water if needed, then set aside.

Heat oil in a large non-stick wok over medium heat. When hot, add marinated chicken, spreading it into thin layer as much as possible. Cook the chicken undisturbed for a minute or two. We want slight crust on the chicken. Once you see that chicken has browned a bit, stir the chicken and break up the pieces, if stuck together. Cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes or until cooked trough. Remove the chicken to a bowl or plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil in wok.

Turn the heat up to medium-high, then add the onions, cook for 2 minutes, then add the stir-fry sauce. Cook for another minute or two.

Next add the cooked chicken and asparagus. Gently mix in with the sauce, cook until just warmed through. Off heat toss in the green onions.

Serve the stir-fry over cooked white or brown rice or noodles!

Serves 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!