Szechuan Asparagus with Ma Po Sauce

Szechuan peppercorns and a spicy Ma Po sauce flavor this fast Spring asparagus side dish.

When you move around a lot, you tend to leave behind more than friends at your last duty station home. You leave behind food--literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, you can't take the contents of your pantry and freezer with you when your household goods are going to spend a month on a boat, nor can you take your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers or their produce. In the figurative sense you leave behind the ready access to foods you've come to love. I have not been able to recreate the Chicken Schnitzel Melba from Mom's Place in Spangdahlem, Germany, a Leonard's Malasada from Honolulu, Hawaii, nor a plate of Ma Po Tofu and Ma La Wonton from the Great Wall restaurant on Logan Circle in Washington, DC.

However, I can make a dish inspired by the flavors of that last one. [Feel free to contribute to the 'Send This Blogger Back to Germany and Hawaii So She Can Experience Some Beloved Dishes' fund and I'll work on the other two.] I picked up a jar of Ma Po sauce at the Cincinnati Asian Market during sled hockey practice, and added Szechuan peppercorns to my Penzey's shopping list. Coupled with my other stock of Asian cooking basics I was set. Except I didn't really know where to start. 

One day at the thrift shop where I work someone brought in a 1970's era Chinese Food Using a Food Processor cookbook by Culinary Arts. As I was tagging it I randomly flipped through and my eye caught the Pork & Bean Curd Szechuan Style recipe. I already knew that Ma Po Tofu had tofu, black beans, pork, and Szechuan peppercorns, so I figured this recipe may be a good place to start. [I should note that I didn't follow that recipe, I just looked at the ingredient list and went off, away from the food processor and the pork and tofu, and did my own thing.]

This spicy asparagus is a great accompaniment to a Spring Chinese meal. For other recipes using Asparagus, please see my Asparagus Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient.

Szechuan Asparagus with Ma Po Sauce

2 Tablespoons Ma Po Sauce (in stores or here's an Amazon Affiliate Link)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ginger paste or finely grated ginger

1½ teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns, crushed with a mortar (more if you like it spicier)

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

1 pound asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Mix together the Ma Po sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and Szechuan peppercorns in a small dish and set aside. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat, and add oil. Dump asparagus into skillet and toss to coat with fat. Stirring often, fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, stir in the set aside sauce, cover, and cook another 3 minutes until vegetables are coated with sauce and just barely tender.

Behind the scenes--light coming in from the window by the sink was enough for me.