I had a surplus of asparagus when I saw an image of a Sichuan-inspired stir-fry recipe with asparagus. There was ground turkey in the freezer, so I decided to make an asparagus and turkey stir-fry. It is mouth-wateringly delicious!
This recipe is based on a pork and asparagus stir-fry recipe on Bon Appétit’s website, using a recipe from Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman. I love her recipes and couldn’t wait to try this. I am avoiding trips to the market whenever possible and used ground turkey that I had on hand. I would absolutely use it again. It soaked up the aromatic flavors of the ginger and garlic-packed sauce and perfectly complemented the charred asparagus.
I made one other substitution. I didn’t have enough scallion, so I substituted some chopped sweet onion and threw in some scallion greens at the last minute. It was perfection!
I served this with jasmine rice.
Tips
- Blistering the asparagus set off my smoke detectors more than once. I suggest opening windows to prevent that.
- I increased the amount of asparagus by about a pound, because I love it and like a high ratio of vegetables to meat. Cut back on the asparagus if you prefer.
Ingredients
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4 teaspoons canola oil
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3 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on a diagonal into 1″–2″ pieces
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8 ounces ground turkey
- 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion (or 6 scallions, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped)
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5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
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1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
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2 tablespoons medium-dry sherry
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2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens
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1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet on high heat. Once the pan is hot (oil will be lightly smoking), add a third of the asparagus and a couple pinches of salt. Cook them, tossing only once or twice so the pieces have a chance to lightly char and blister (about 4 minutes). Don’t overcook them. Transfer the asparagus to a plate. Add another teaspoon of oil to the skillet and repeat the process with another third of the asparagus. Do this one more time with the remaining asparagus.
Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the skillet, then add the turkey, spreading it out evenly in the pan. Season with a couple pinches of salt and cook it without stirring until the meat begins to brown underneath (about 2 minutes).
Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook the mixture, stirring it, until the turkey is slightly crisp in places and the mixture is very fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add the sherry vinegar and soy sauce and return the asparagus to the skillet. Cook, blending the turkey and asparagus until heated through (about 2 minutes).
Transfer stir-fry to a platter or large shallow bowl and drizzle with toasted sesame oil. Serve with rice.
Thanks to Deb Perelman and Bon Appétit for this delicious recipe.
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