book version
Asparagus Peking Style
龍鬚菜
- 2 tbsp. oil
- ¼ c. chicken stock
- ¼ c. water
- 1 tbsp. sherry
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- 14 oz. can asparagus
Canned asparagus. Yeah it’s science! and the rules of the game that we’ve only just started but we just. couldn’t. do. it. Instead, we blanched a pound of asparagus in a lot of hot, very salty water, plunged it into very icy water when it was tender, and set it aside to be finished later with the sauce. This was good and probably could be done with any vegetable, especially strongly flavored ones like broccoli or peapods. This tastes pretty much how green vegetables are done in good American Chinese restaurants.
Something awesome I just learned: Asparagus is called “dragon whisker vegetable.” The kind that we eat, Asparagus officinalis, is very new to China. It was probably introduced by French occupiers of Cochin around 1862.