Chinese Style Asparagus
Serves 4.
Ingredients
400 g/14 oz fresh green asparagus
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Directions
Wash asparagus and snap off about 21/2 cm (1 in) at the base of the stems if they are not tender right through. (If stems bend instead of snapping crisply at that point, move a little higher up the stalk to where they snap.) Discard tough ends. Bring water to the boil in a wok, deep enough to immerse the asparagus. Add peanut oil and asparagus. When water returns to the boil cook for 2 minutes or until tender but crisp. Lift out asparagus and on a board cut into finger lengths. Arrange on serving dish. Empty the wok, add oyster sauce, sugar and 2 tablespoons water to the wok and bring to boil. Pour over asparagus and serve at once.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)