Prawn + asparagus stir fry

It might not look much but it’s the simplest, sweetest little stir fry that’s super quick after a long day … when you also really want to eat something that feels like it’s nourishing you too.

I have a bad cheese on toast habit when it’s been a long day and I need something quick but this feels a billion times better to me and doesn’t take really that much longer.

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For this quick stir-fry for one, you’ll need:

2-3 tablespoons dry basmati (or jasmine rice)

some asparagus tips or green beans

1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on their size and your taste

raw prawns, as many as you like

cooking oil - something like rapeseed or grapeseed or sunflower

2 teaspoons or so fish sauce

2 teaspoons or so white sugar

white pepper (or black pepper if you don’t have white)

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Boil water with a pinch of salt, throw in basmati rice, medium boil for five mins and then add asparagus tips or maybe green beans for three mins more.

Drain quickly leaving a little hot water in the pan. Put the sieve back over the pan and quickly again a lid on top of the pan. Leave to steam while you make the stir fry.

Crush peel and chop 1-2 cloves of garlic and de-vein however many raw prawns you want.

Put a non-stick pan over a medium heat, add oil and the garlic.

Fry for a few seconds stirring until it smells amazing but doesn’t colour.

Add the prawns and stir all the time until they are pink - add a little splash of water if the garlic looks like burning or sticking.

Add the cooked asparagus or beans then two teaspoons each of fish sauce and sugar and water plus a shake of white pepper. Add a little more water if you want more of a sauce and bubble up for a minute or two.

Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the prawn stir fry.

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Peppery garlic asparagus stir fry

Yep, it’s asparagus season!

And after a visit to the local Farmers’ Market I had enough asparagus to just get creative with - which is really what I love to do with food: get great ingredients and then just have fun, playing around and trying out new ideas.

First I made a Thai soup with coconut milk, a tom kha - I’ve usually had this with chicken or seafood, but I made it with asparagus and really liked it.

Next up this peppery, garlic stir fry.

In my head I’d wanted fresh green peppercorns but I was definitely too lazy to go out and get the bus up to the Thai supermarket to buy some, so I tried a mix of black, and pink peppercorns (that I had whole and ground) and some white pepper (ready ground).

I’ve since made it again with just white pepper to see what it was like, and it was still good.

Quantities are kind of vague (as they often are!) but here’s what I used to make this super simple peppery asparagus stir fry.

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A teaspoon of cooking oil - sunflower, rapeseed or grapeseed will be best

Just over a teaspoon of ground peppercorns - your choice as to what you use but on the first occasion I used a mix of black, pink and white and on the second just white pepper on its own

1 garlic clove, minced

1 red chilli, diced finely (the chilli is optional and when I made this a second time I didn’t put one in and probably preferred it without - instead I had the asparagus as a side dish with a spicy chicken stir fry and rice)

A handful of asparagus spears - I LOVE how when you bed the asparagus it just KNOWS where the right place is to snap off - woody stalk snapped off and sliced

2-3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped (if liked - if not just leave out)

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Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil and swirl to cover the pan.

Add the pepper and garlic (and chilli if using) and cook for 20-30 seconds, stirring all the time, until it smells good. Add a splash of water if it looks like it’s going to stick or burn - it needs to keep moving.

Then tip in the sliced asparagus and stir to cover with the lovely oily peppery garlicky mixture and then add the water, fish sauce and sugar.

Do adjust the amount of water if you’d like more of a sauce or if at any point in the cooking time it looks like it’s run out of water and is going to stick.

Cover and simmer for about four minutes until the asparagus is cooked but still has a crunch - or to your liking of course. If you prefer it softer, cook it a little longer.

Add the coriander leaves if using and stir to mix it all together.

Serve on its own with rice for a delicious light lunch or supper, or have alongside other dishes in a multi-dish meal.

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