Stir-fried pork & asparagus with fish sauce

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
¼ pounds Boneless pork butt
12 mediums Asparagus spears
½ teaspoon Fresh ginger root, minced
1 tablespoon Peanut oil
⅓ cup Chicken stock
1 pinch Sugar
1 teaspoon Fish sauce (OR
2 teaspoons Oyster sauce
Thin cornstarch paste

Directions

This is a basic stir-fried vegetable and meat dish. Adding just a touch of fish sauce lends an interesting dimension to the taste.

Preparation: Slice pork butt (or comparable boneless pork) across the grain into strips 2" by ¼" by ⅛" thick. Wash and trim tough white skin from asparagus. Cut asparagus into 2½" segments. If asparagus is thick (¾" or more), cut on bias so it will cook quickly and be balanced in size with pork strips.

Stir-frying: Heat peanut oil in wok until it just begins to smoke.

Add pork strips and stir-fry about 1 minute until no longer pink. Add asparagus and stir-fry briskly for another minute. Before asparagus turns bright green, add ginger, chicken stock and sugar; keep stir- ring. When liquid boils, reduce heat to medium, add fish sauce (not oyster sauce, though), cover and simmer for about 1 minute or until asparagus is cooked but still firm. Uncover, turn up heat, and push ingredients out of liquid. Dribble in cornstarch paste, stirring continuously until liquid thickens. You may need 1 to 2 tsp of paste.

Recombine ingredients. Serve.

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