One thing I like about owning a house is that I don't plant around it. An asparagus bed is one of the surprises. The asparagus bed is not very productive, but it is delightful. Three or four stalks poke up at a time, not enough for a meal, but more than enough for entertainment. I let the stalks grow because a couple of people told me to. If I leave them alone this year, more will come back next year. I just found my new favorite way to prepare asparagus, thanks to a Portland icon, and I hope that is true. James Beard was a famous chef and food writer who was from Portland. Eric Kim adapted his soy sauce and butter asparagus for Food52. The asparagus is cooked quickly in a mixture of soy sauce and butter, coating them in a salty, rich glaze and giving them a grassy, raw flavor. It's barely a recipe, more of a method, one that Kim found at the end of Beard's 1964 memoir. … if it is in season, I will have asparagus, either boiled quickly till tender but still crisp—and this with no embellishment save salt and freshly ground black pepper—or cut in paper-thin diagonal slices and tossed with butter and soy for two or three minutes in a hot skillet, which gives it a delightful texture. Keep it clean. Features three different brush types, learns the layout of your home to avoid getting stuck and damaging things, and can be controlled via an app on your phone.
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I decided to prep the asparagus two ways and see which I liked better, because the paper-thin diagonal slices are a little vague. I cut four ounces of stalks on the bias and used a knife to make thin slices.
I used a vegetable peeler to make paper thin slices for the second four-ounce batches.
I used Kim's ratios for butter and sauce to cook them. I switched out the soy sauce for fish sauce because I like my vegetables to be a little funky. I think this was a good move. I added some almonds to the dish to make it taste better.
I preferred the thicker asparagus slices. The asparagus I prepared with a vegetable peeler was too thin and turned into noodles. It tasted too salty because it absorbed too much of the sauce.
The thicker asparagus kept its fresh, crisp texture and absorbed just the right amount of fish sauce, resulting in a perfectly seasoned, perfectly tender-crisp bite of spring vegetable. I will make it again and again.
There are ingredients.
Thin slices of asparagus can be made by slicing them on the bias. I used my cast iron to cook the skillet. Once the butter starts to brown, add the asparagus and cook for a minute or two.
Add the fish sauce, stir again, and cook for another minute or so, until the asparagus is tender-crisp. If you want, you can serve immediately and serve with pepper or almonds.
Food & DrinkCookingVegetarian
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