Asian Barbecue Asparagus Stir Fry with Brown Rice!

We never get Chinese take out anymore. The only place near us that was good ended up hiring a new chef whose food I don't like and they often got our orders wrong, and their delivery times varied. I had a hankering for Asian cuisine this evening and wanted to make something quick and easy. I had picked up a large bunch of asparagus from Whole Foods yesterday because I envisioned a stir fry in the near future. The deal between me and Fran is, whenever I make an Asian entree, he makes brown rice. Unfortunately, the brown rice always takes at least 10 minutes longer, so we have to get the timing just right, which can be tricky.

I pulled out all of the stops with this one as much as possible with what I had.

And it worked out very well. (Fran had two big servings!)




Asian Barbecue Asparagus Stir-Fry with Brown Rice


1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed, then cut into 2 inch pieces at a diagonal
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 inch of ginger root, grated finely
salt and pepper, as much as desired
a sprinkle of Korean red pepper powder, or as much as desired
1/4 cup of Trader Joes Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine


Heat up the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat until it streams. Add the asparagus, salt, black peppers, and Korean crushed pepper flakes. Stir quickly, making sure to coat thoroughly with oil. When the stems start to get brighter green, in about 3-5 minutes, add the garlic and ginger. Mix thoroughly for about 30 seconds.

Spread the asparagus to the edge, clearing the middle of the pan. Add barbecue sauce and soy sauce in the middle of the pan, making sure to coat all of the asparagus pieces. When the sauce thickens, add the rice wine, stir quickly, and serve immediately over cooked brown rice.