Spicy Asparagus

I found the original recipe for this dish on the blog Week of Menus, which is awesome. Just so you know, every blog I've ever linked to is better than mine. Seriously: check them out. Anyway, these asparagus were yummy: if there was a spicy candy on the market, I'd say these tasted like candy. Enough said -- make them. Try them. They're delicious. I adapted the recipe just enough so that it serves one.

Ingredients:

a good handful of asparagus

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon Asian chili pepper paste (sambal oelek) -- this is not peanut free

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

you'll also need:

small non-stick frying pan

shallow wide-bottomed bowl

heat-proof spoon for stirring

1. wash the asparagus and pat it dry. Snap off the woody ends, then chop the asparagus into pieces (I cut mine in thirds).

2. heat the pan over medium heat, and ad the vegetable oil and asparagus. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is bright green and just a bit tender.

3. add the garlic to the fan and cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until the garlic starts to brown and the asparagus is more tender.

4. take the pan off the heat and transfer the asparagus to a bowl. Add the red pepper paste and stir to coat. It's more difficult to coat the asparagus than in it probably would be in a hot pan, since the paste is fairly thick, but this protects the pan from becoming contaminated by peanuts. Remember: a pan with non-stick coating can't be properly scoured without scratching it, so you want to avoid that.

5. once the asparagus is coated with the paste, transfer it to the serving dish and drizzle it with sesame oil. Enjoy the asparagus while it's hot!

I found this recipe on the blog Week of Menus. Check it out!