My Inspiration

I love, love, love Asian food!  Years ago (not telling how long ago), I decided to venture out into learning what the "essence of Asian cooking" was all about.  My fondest memories was when my Aunt Betty and I were hanging out in Barnes & Nobles in Dallas browsing the cookbook aisle.  I spied a "Thai" cookbook I could not resist.  I loved it because of the nice big beautiful pictures and easy to follow recipes.  That night, my Aunt bought that cookbook for me.  I will not ever forget that special night.  That cookbook is my "go-to" for Asian  "Thai" recipes.  Later, I received another Asian cookbook from my co-workers whose ultimate goal was for me to cook more "Asian" goodies for them.  So for this recipe, I "Thai" it all together from the experiences I have gained from those cookbooks. Enjoy!

Easy Prepping Tips

1. Use a rice cooker for the jasmine rice (if you are wanting to have rice).  It is so easy to use and comes out perfect.
2. Make the Chile-Garlic Miso Sauce the night before --- so the flavors can get to know one another.
3. Set the table with chop-sticks and watch the fun! Ha!

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine, such as Shaoxing, or sake

1 tablespoon sesame oil 

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 

2 teaspoons minced garlic 

2 teaspoons brown sugar 

2 dried hot chiles 

3 scallions, minced 

1 pound boneless chicken breast,  thinly sliced 

1/2 pound asparagus, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths 

2 tablespoons Chile-Garlic Miso Sauce (see Note)

Steamed jasmine rice, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of the rice wine. Place a large wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the oil to the wok and swirl until it starts to smoke. Add the ginger, garlic, sugar, dried chiles and scallions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until charred in spots, then add the asparagus and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the Chile-Garlic Miso Sauce, the remaining 2 tablespoons of rice wine and the cornstarch slurry and cook for 1 minute. Transfer the chicken and asparagus to a platter and serve with jasmine rice.

Chile-Garlic Miso Sauce

3 Tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoon red miso

1 tsp paprika

1 tablespoon chili power

1 tsp red Chile pepper flakes

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sesame oil

The fermented red Miso supplies all the punch of authenticity and honesty you need to make some great Asian food, starting with this recipe.  Mix all the ingredients together except for the fresh garlic and sesame oil.  Heat a small sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil until shimmering.  Plop the chopped garlic into pan and immediately swirl the oil around for the garlic to get golden around the edges (1 minute).  Take off heat and let cool for a minute or so.  Once cooled, mix the garlic and sesame oil with the sauce.  

This sauce makes more than the recipe but its great with any other Asian dishes.  Try making some Asian wings with it!  Be creative!