Easter week brings at least one good thing: asparagus on sale. So…have I ever mentioned how I HATED asparagus 95% of my life? We only ate it one way when growing up. “Steamed” in water, in a large skillet with the lid on. It always smelled so bad, it was limp and yeah…you get the idea. I didn’t know then that it was better to buy young, thin stalks. Bigger wasn’t better. And that if you kept the preparation simple, the taste of it could shine. Oven roasted with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper? Delicious. Or the main star in a simple stir-fry.
I served the stir-fry with a baked brown rice pilaf:
- 1½ cups basmati or long grain brown rice
- 1 Tbsp dried onion
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2½ cups boiling vegetable broth
Combine in an 8×8″ glass baking dish, cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour at 375°.
Asparagus & Tofu Stir-fry
Ingredients:
- Sesame oil
- 16 ounces extra-firm tofu, preferably sprouted
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and microplaned
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch asparagus, thinner stalks preferably
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- Toasted Sesame oil
- Fine sea salt
Directions:
Trim the bottoms of the asparagus, peel any tough skin off the stalks if needed, cut into 1″ pies on a diagonal angle.
Drain off any water from the tofu, slice in half lengthwise, then cut into 1″ long pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high, add in a good drizzle of sesame oil. Add the tofu, cook until golden brown on all sides, shaking the pan often. Set tofu aside, return skillet to heat, adding in another good drizzle of oil. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and asparagus, stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the tofu back in, add the lime zest and juice, toss gently and cook for another minute.
Sprinkle with salt to taste and about a Tablespoon toasted sesame oil.
Serves 3 to 4.
~Sarah
I’ve been looking forward to asparagus but haven’t bought it yet. I never had it as a kid but enjoy it now, when it is on sale for a good price. This looks great! I’ve steamed it and used it in random stir fry’s, this looks like a recipe with zing!
I liked how it was simple but still had so many yummy flavors 🙂
Lovely. We found with our varia bowls that asparagus is more flexible than I’d thought. I’m so glad you found a way around to liking it – I’m watching for the tips to appear in my garden. Yum!
Only took what 38 years for me? Lol……
I don’t like asparagus, but this looks yummy!
This looks delicious! I like asparagus but only when it’s on the thin side. The big fat stalks kind of gross me out 🙂 However, cut up into chunks would probably be ok!
I don’t like the big stalks at Coscto – yuck – but the baby ones are delicious 🙂
This looks amazing! I, too, love asparagus roasted or even grilled in olive oil, salt and pepper in the grill pan.
Is it too gross to tell you that my parents served asparagus out of a can? Talk about limp and squishy. Ugh! 🙂
So did my Mom 😀 So limp!! Right up there with canned spinach – another veggie I hated till I had it done right.
I have a kidlet peering over my shoulder… She just said. ohhhhh, that looks GOOD! I second that motion!
Yeah, no kidding – I want it again!