Spring into Asparagus Season

For some silly reason, it never seems to dawn on me that spring has finally arrived until I see bunches of asparagus in the market.  This year is especially strange with the COVID-19 crisis, time just seems to be standing still.  On a dreary rainy day last week, I finally escaped to the market and the first display I saw was the asparagus.  I cracked a little smile, grateful that spring had arrived even in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

While at the market, I bought a bunch of asparagus home knowing exactly what I was going to do with it.  I had just read a wonderful essay by Eric Kim entitled “The Man Who Hated Eating Alone”. Eric is a senior editor for Food52 and author of the column Table for One.  His latest essay on eating alone, (which many of us are experiencing with self-quarantine) intertwined with James Beard’s bio and his recipe for asparagus-delicious, so simple, and perfect for one person.

The recipe calls for asparagus, butter and soy sauce. That’s it.  Thinly sliced asparagus, melt a pat of butter in a pan, add a splash of soy sauce, and saute’ for a couple of minutes so it stays crispy. Sprinkle some coarse salt to finish-boom, done.  So delicious and so easy.  It’s criminal.

But if I think about it, I love most of my vegetables prepared simply.  I make my favorite Chinese dish of pea sprouts or spinach ALOT.  Just stir-fry greens with lots of garlic, a bit of soy sauce, oyster sauce and ginger and that’s it, ready to scarf it down.  Blanch lettuce, Iceberg or Romaine, quickly in water or stock and finish with oyster sauce and oil-done and delicious.  Can’t beat that.

So I shouldn’t be surprised that such a simple recipe would be wonderful. I prepped my asparagus two ways, cut on the diagonal and shaved into long thin strips with a peeler.  Use Ponzu Soy Sauce or Soy Dashi instead of soy sauce which adds a hit of citrus and a dash of sesame oil for pop.  this would also work beautifully with sugar snap peas or snow peas.

Enjoy, Stay home, stay well.