Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry


I bought a giant bunch of asparagus when it was on sale, and now I feel like it's all I've been eating for the past week. In attempting to do something a bit different from what I normally have (either roasted or Norm's Jamies's version), I threw this together last night. If you wanted to do a spicy version of this, you could replace the sesame oil & sesame seeds with chili oil & crushed dried chilis. Or, presumably, it would be just as good with green beans or broccoli.

Pork & Asparagus Stir Fry (serves 4 as a side):
3 tbsp vegetable oil
450 g asparagus
200 g finely chopped pork

2 garlic cloves, squashed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
ground pepper
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

In a bowl, mix the pork, soy sauce, cornstarch, and pepper and let marinate while you prepare the asparagus (break off the woody ends and cut in 5cm/2" lengths). Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add the asparagus. Cook for around 3 minutes, until done but still firm. Remove the asparagus, add the remaining oil to the hot wok and then add the marinated pork and whole garlic cloves. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the pork browns, then fish out the garlic. Add the asparagus back to the wok, pour over the sake, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and stir to combine.

This also makes a great addition to a bento (I'm going to have a good lunch today!). The one pictured below has 1 serving of the stir fry, 2/3 cup rice, 2 hard boiled quail eggs (with sesame seeds & salt in a furikake shaker), and 2 small chocolate chip cookies.

7 comments:

  1. Looks nice! :)


    http://luminata55.blogspot.com

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  2. That's a nice looking lunch, indeed. Ah, asparagus season.

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  3. We totally dont' use pork enough. This sounds like a good way to ease into it.

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  4. What a wonderful combination - Hmmm Hmmm Good!!

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  5. I love bento lunches. they look so cute. this one looks really delicious. Where do you get the quail eggs ... and do they taste any different from chickens'?

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  6. Hi Isabelle, I got the quail eggs at T&T Supermarket for about $3. They often have them at Superstore as well, but not always. As for the taste, they are very similar to regular chicken eggs - but so cute & tiny! I love them.

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