Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry Over Ginger Rice
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If you love to entertain like my husband and I, this dish is for you. When the gathering is spur-of-the-moment (or even if it’s not) it can be hard to come up with something quick to serve to your guests. This Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry Over Ginger Rice recipe comes together quickly, making it a good last-minute dish. Problem solved.
Shrimp is a great ingredient to keep in the freezer. It thaws quickly under cold-running water, cooks fast and pairs well with a lot of ingredients. It is also great for using in stir-fry.
Prepping the Ingredients
This recipe has traditional Asian flavors including ginger and garlic. To slice them both use the Santoku-Style 3″ Paring Knife.
For the asparagus, snap off or cut off the woody ends of each stalk and then, with a 4″ Vegetable Knife, cut them on the bias into 2-inch pieces.
The shorter blade on this knife is ideal for slicing smaller vegetables, so you can also use it to slice the scallions.
To make the cooking move along smoothly, cut all the ingredients and measure them out in advance to have at-the-ready when it’s time to toss them into the pan.
Making the Stir-Fry
When cooking stir-fry in particular, being prepared is key. The process moves along quickly, so you don’t want to have to pause to prep and measure.
Before placing anything into the Wok, heat it up. Once some water droplets “dance” when dropping them into the pan, it’s ready for adding oil.
For stir-fry, add foods in order of cooking time. Put the slow-cooking ingredients in first to cook a bit and then the quick-cooking ingredients. For this dish, cook the garlic and ginger until golden, remove from the pan and toss in the asparagus. It will take longer to cook than the rest of the ingredients.
Once the asparagus is crisp-tender, push it to the side and add the marinated shrimp.
The reserved marinade is mixed with cornstarch and added to the pan to make a sauce. Then, the cooked garlic and ginger go back in the pan along with sliced scallions to finish the dish.
The stir-fry is served over ginger rice which is jasmine rice cooked along with some slices of ginger. The slices are removed before serving, but the ginger will have infused into the rice making it fragrant and flavorful.
The Flavors
The garlic and the ginger give this dish a burst of spicy flavor and the sauce makes it feel like comfort food. The flavors are subtle but could be intensified by increasing the amount of ingredients.
Shrimp is something I routinely cook with in my cooking classes. It cooks fast and pairs well with a lot of ingredients. This Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry Over Ginger Rice is a prime example. You could also easily make this using chicken instead of shrimp.
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
- 2 cups water
- 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into 1/2-inch slices
For the stir-fry:
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup fish stock or clam juice
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 pound of fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 scallions, sliced
Directions
- Make the rice: Place rice, water, and ginger in 4-quart saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. When you see steam, turn heat to low and cook approximately 20 minutes. When done, remove ginger.
- Make the shrimp: Combine white wine and fish sauce in a large bowl then add shrimp to marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a separate bowl mix cornstarch with fish stock and set aside.
- Heat a large sauté pan, chef’s pan or wok over medium to high heat, then add oil.
- Add garlic and ginger and cook until golden. Remove.
- Add asparagus and cook until crisp tender. Push to side of pan.
- Drain shrimp and reserve marinade. Add shrimp to pan and cook until pink.
- Mix reserved marinade with cornstarch mixture and add to stir-fry. Add garlic and ginger that was previously cooked, along with scallions. Cook until sauce is thickened and serve over previously prepared jasmine rice.
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