Asparagus, Beef and Shiitake Mushroom Stir-fry

One of the things that I like best about this time of year is all of the fresh locally grown asparagus! The farmers market has been full of it the last few weeks and I have been been picking some up at every opportunity. I have also been keeping an eye out for tasty sounding asparagus recipes. A while ago I came across a recipe for an asparagus, beef and shiitake mushroom stir-fry. I like stir-frys because they are simple and quick and I liked the sound of the the asparagus, beef and shiitake mushroom flavour combo. Since I have been into black bean sauce lately I decided to make the stir-fry with a black bean sauce. I like heat I also added some chili sauce. The stir fry came together quickly and tasted great! This was easily my favorite of the black bean stir-frys that I have made so far. The trick is to have everything end up cooked at the same time without overcooking anything, especially not the asparagus. You want the asparagus to be just cooked, al dente so to say.

Ingredients:
1 pound beef (thinly sliced)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons shao xing Chinese cooking wine (or cooking sherry)
2 tablespoons garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons ginger (chopped)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons ginger (chopped)
2 tablespoons fermented black beans (soaked in water and chopped)
1 pound asparagus (sliced into bite sized pieces)
1 pound shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and sliced)
1 tablespoon chili sauce (optional)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
* soy sauce to taste

Directions:
1. Marinate the beef in the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch while you chop everything.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the beef and its marinade and saute the until almost cooked and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in the pan.
5. Add the garlic, ginger and fermented black beans and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add the mushrooms and saute until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the asparagus and saute for 1-2 minutes.
8. Add the chili sauce, beef and chicken stock.
9. Cover and simmer for a few minutes.
10. Add the sesame oil and season with soy sauce to taste.

Similar Recipes:
Beef and Garlic Scape Stir-fry
Steak and Peppers in Black Bean Sauce
Asparagus and Cashew Chicken Stir-fry
Asparagus and Shiitake Mushroom Teriyaki Quinoa Salad