Asparagus Stir-Fry
A favorite stir-fry recipe. Asparagus and tofu form the base, but it has quite a lot going on beyond that. You get a bite of tang from the lime, heat from the red chiles and fresh ginger, mint and basil cool things down. A touch of hoisin sauce gives you just enough sweetness to balance it all out.
This asparagus stir-fry reminds me of the ones my dad would make for us as kids. He took Chinese cooking classes at the local community college and would do a version similar to this - using chicken in place of the tofu. We loved it and it was one of the rare ways I would enthusiastically consume green vegetables. So picky. I’ve play fast and loose here with the herbs and vegetables, and tend to put this into recipe rotation the night before going to the farmer’s market. It’s a perfect way to use up any herbs, greens, and vegetables at the end of the week.
Like many stir-fries this version requires a bit of commitment on the front-end - slicing, dicing, and chopping. All completely worth it. Each time an ingredient hits the hot pan, the scent unfurls toward you in an intense bouquet. Just from the small, just absolutely know it's going to be good. Asparagus and tofu form the base of this ensemble, but it has quite a lot going on beyond that. You get a bite of tang from the lime, heat from the red chiles and fresh ginger, mint and basil cool things down. A touch of hoisin sauce gives you just enough sweetness to balance it all out.
What if I don’t have Hoisin Sauce?
You have other options if you don’t have hoisin sauce on hand, no problem! It’s salty and a bit sweet, so you can do a splash of tamari or soy sauce instead, and sprinkle a touch of sugar (or brown sugar) across the stir-fry. Or skip the sugar and use the soy sauce. You could go even simpler and just salt to taste - skipping the sauces altogether. Basically, you want it to taste good to you. You could also go the no sauce route and finish with some chili crisp.
A few other variations from the comments and people who have cooked this recipe:
- Peggy mentions, "I don’t have hoisin on hand, so I used tamari and veg broth with a seaweed/sesame seed mix from Eden Foods. I also added some shiitake for texture, flavor and nutrition. And not having fresh mint or basil, added some dill instead (very little)."
- Love the red pepper angle from Kathy B, "Made this last night and it was GREAT! Added some slivered sweet red pepper. Served it with a mix of mahogany and brown rice. Never thought of lime rind and juice for a stir fry and it made all the difference."
- Also noted this version from Tiff, "I substituted fresh squeezed OJ and chopped jalapeño cause that’s what I had on hand and it still turned out great.”
Stir-frying: Keys To Success
Making a great stir-fry is fast, hot, and furious. If you’re new to this style of cooking, I want to re-emphasize a few basic tips.
- Prep in advance: get absolutely everything chopped and measured.
- Get organized: This might be over the top, but I like to arrange my ingredients near the stove in (roughly) the order they’re going to be added to the pan.
- Turn on your fan and/or open a window: This just keeps things from getting too smoky.
- Be ready to eat: The last thing you want is for your beautiful stir-fry to sit around steaming. It’s so hot it will continue to cook after you transfer it from the pan. Ideally, you want to serve it as fast as possible for the best experience, texture, and bright flavors. So, set the table and get beverages ready before you start cooking.
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Asparagus Stir-Fry
I mention this up above in the main post but it is key! Be sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start actually stir-frying. And for an easy GF version swap out the hoisin for a splash of GF tamari.
- toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into slices thick as a pencil
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- scant 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (peeled)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- a couple big pinches of fine-grain sea salt
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 big handful of toasted cashews, chopped up a bit
- a few handfuls of spinach, or chopped kale, or chopped chard
- zest and juice of one lime
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 small handful fresh mint, slivered
- 1 small handful fresh basil, slivered
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Have all your ingredients prepped and within arms reach of the stove. Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large pan, or well-seasoned wok over medium high heat. If you’re worried about the tofu sticking, use a no-PFAS non-stick pan. When it is hot, add the tofu, and cook until golden - a few minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.
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Add another (generous) splash of oil to the pan and, as soon as it is hot, add the onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, asparagus, and salt. Stir fry for about a minute, then add the garlic, cashews, and spinach and stir-fry for another minute, or until the spinach wilts. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the hoisin sauce. Cook for another 10-20 seconds, stirring all the while.
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Remove from heat and stir in the mint and basil. Taste and add a bit more salt if needed.
Serves 2-4. (main/side)
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Comments
The asparagus stir fry was very good. I harvested some fresh asparagus from my garden for this recipe. It was wonderful. I will be adding this recipe to my rotation list.
yum… subbed brown sugar+tamari for hoisin and it was awesome.
Heidi this is my first time posting, but just wanted to share my husband’s comment (he is a devoted carnivore):
“I ate tofu, spinach n pilau n loved it …WOW.. neva in a million years”
I should add that i cooked up some bulgur wheat in chicken stock to have with it and he took it for lunch. I love your site and it took me a long time to figure out you were vegetarian! As i’m not vegetarian myself that’s surely saying something because your dishes are so beautiful, creative and tasty that i didn’t miss meat! Thank you!
Hah. Love the accent Annabelle! Too funny. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
This was so beautiful when it was all done I almost didn’t want to eat it, but I’m glad I did it’s fabulous!
I planned on making this and serving it with rice or soba noodles so that it would be filling enough. Well, a bunch of things happened (no car accidents thankfully) and I had only enough time to make the stir fry. No worries, my husband and were both fully satisfied. It was delicious and beautiful, too! I love this site! Thank you for your great recipes and stories.
Made this for dinner last night – awesome! Could pass on the tofu if you’re cooking for people who don’t like it and would still be a great way to serve asparagus.
I made this today, picked up the ingredients fresh today and this was awesome 🙂
I knew it would be pretty good since it combined some of my favourite flavours, but it exceeded my expectations. Reminded me a little of my favourite Thai restaurant. Thanks for the recipe Heidi.
I’ve been following along and have made several recipes in the last year or so (you’re totally my secret weapon Heidi!). I haven’t commented on anything before (and have loved many, many dishes) but this one was AMAZING and had to tell you! I’m so glad to have found you 🙂
My husband and I made this last night and it was soooooooooo good! Thank you so much!
FYI, I learned from an old Chinese doctor of Chinese traditional medicine that spinach and tofu are complementary nutritionally.
Heidi-
I was wondering if you have a trick for grating fresh ginger. I tried it making your ginger cake, and the carrot cookies and both times did not have very good luck. The ginger just seems to get stringy instead of grated. I love the idea of fresh grated ginger, but am having a hard time. Any ideas?
I made this late last night, and it is incredible (even with my pantry-sweep improvised hoisin sauce!). There are so many layers of flavor and texture here. I love the overload of green with little islands of golden brown cashews and tofu. Thank you!
Asparagus, This is my favorite food!! In summeer time, it might be the best vegetable for salad!
I made this recipe tonight and it was wonderful! Thank you so much! Looking at your photo it looks like your tofu is more firm and cooked than mine was. Is there any secret to that?
Hi Suzanne – I use extra-firm tofu. Pat it dry, and then cut into pieces.
I made this tonight sans the hoisin, because I didn’t have any, and it was wonderful. My husband usually whines when I make vegetarian meals, but he said this was very satisfying.
Delicious! This was a perfect meal tonight — I had gotten home later than usual, but a bit earlier than I expected. I had time to stop at whole foods to pick up hoisin sauce and tofu. It was meditative getting everything ready, and the stir-fry was fun and easy.
Heidi — I love your site partly because of the recipes, partly because of the pictures, partly because of your beautiful writing.
Well, maybe very much because of your writing, and the temperament of goodwill and non-show-offy calm that exudes from it.
I’m a very newby whole foods/healthy eating cook, basically learning from scratch — and your site is usually the first touchstone reference that I turn to. I’ll be buying your book shortly.
Anyway … thank you!
Perfect timing! I had an extra bunch of asparagus, so I mde this last night. Excellent!
Just wanted to say it is SO NICE to see so many people this excited about simple (yet complex and decadent!), healthy, vegetarian dishes!
Your recipes are inspiring to us all, Heidi! : )
ps – I made the soba and swiss chard recipe last week and loved it. (I had to sub tahini for miso though! Next time, I will do it with the miso)
I just stumbled upon your site recently and I love it. Thanks for posting such great recipes. I made this dish last night and it was divine! I made it exactly as printed with one exception – I left out the mint as I had no fresh mint. It was so delicious. Thank you.
Heidi, this recipe was fabulous!
I don’t have hoisin on hand, so I used tamari and veg broth with a seaweed/sesame seed mix from Eden Foods. I also added some shiitake for texture, lavor and nutrition. And not having fresh mint or basil, added some dill instead (very little).
I *just* made this for dinner and it was a HUGE hit. My husband has never raved more about a dish! It was absolutely FANTASTIC.
I didn’t have any mint but the recipe didn’t suffer. I will have to make this again – with even more asparagus & spinach next time!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I am totally conquered by this recipe!! gorgeous dish!
Delicious! Made this recipe this evening with some added broccoli. The ginger really sends this recipe over the top!
This dish is amazing. My husband & I have never had a tofu dish we’ve really enjoyed before. This was so good and seasoned perfectly.
Thanks so much for this website. It really encourages me to cook even more healthy.
This looks like a great quick dish to fix with all the asparagus in our markets right now! Love it!
Ciao from Italy!
This looks fantastic!
My husband and I love asparagus, I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for sharing your blog with us.
Best, Sabrina
This looks so great! I tried an Asparagus, Peas and Basil recipe that disappointed me because I felt that it was missing something… I think this is what it was missing!
Anything with hoisin sauce is, in my opinion, a winner. This recipe sounds delicious. Maybe dinner tomorrow night.
This recipe sounds great. I’m not the world’s biggest asparagus fan, but I love stir fry. This sounds like a great blend of flavors.
Hi Tony, feel free to swap out the asparagus and use another green or vegetable that is more to your liking.
Didn’t have all of the ingredients (no fresh basil or mint, slivered almonds instead of cashews), but it still turned out awesome!
Made this for dinner tonight. Subbed garlic greens for the green onions. (I’m mad for those garlic greens…Picked ’em up at the Portland Farmers Market this a.m.) Skipped basil and mint since I didn’t have them handy. Used asparagus from farmers market. Family gobbled it up. A keeper. Thanks, Heidi.
I love visiting your blog! I’m currently honing my culinary skills while serving in the Peace Corps… lots of time to do as such! I had a dinner party not too long ago and the Curried Egg Salad was a HUGE hit!
Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes and fueling new ideas!
Hoison and lime! Who knew?? Fabulous – thanks, Heidi
Made this last night and it was GREAT! Added some slivered sweet red pepper. Served it with a mix of mahogany and brown rice. Never thought of lime rind and juice for a stir fry and it made all the difference.
So sorry to hear about your car..
Awesome stirfry!Lovely combo of ingredients,must taste delicious..gotta give it a try! Thanx!
SUPERB! I’m sitting here eating my second plate while I type. This is the food of the gods. I was heavy handed with ginger and glad for it. Also added a few splashes of tamari to the tofu while cooking. Excellent pop with the basil, mint, lime, and hoisin sauce. Thank you, Heidi!
Frozen by too many recipes in too many cookbooks, and only 5 minutes to make up a shopping list – then miraculously your post popped in & I KNEW what to make for dinner. What a fabulous combination of flavors. For the family plus leftovers, I doubled the recipe, used Guilin Chili Sauce instead of Hoisin & cayenne, and simmered rice cakes in water & Tamari before tossing with the vegetables. This recipe will be posted to the fridge to make often. Thank you!
I substituted fresh squeezed OJ and chopped jalapeno cause that’s what I had on hand and it still turned out great.
Heidi, do you peel your asparagus? I found I had to cook it for a bit longer than a minute in the middle step. Or maybe that’s just supermarket asparagus for you.
This is not to comment on the amazing flavour of asparagus, as most of us would agree that it is! It’s just this morning (I live in Israel) as many other mornings I open your email with an always surprise recipe awaiting and I thought that you, Heidi are genuinely a very special person. Thank you for the recipes. Have a lovely day.
Thanks for the nice note Linda.
looks great – i love asparagus in stir-fry paired with tofu. also digging the idea of toasted nuts. thanks!
I love the herbs you’ve paired with the asparagus — yum!
Sorry about your car. I saw cashews and you got my attention. Nuts in any thing draws me in.
Mmmmm…! I don’t have the cashews & mints but have the rest. I’ll give it a go tomorrow! cheers for the inspiration! ^^
I am SO making this. Very rarely do I let a recipe (rather than ingredients) drive my cooking, but this just looks too good and easy to pass up.
Thanks!
This is perfect! I have almost all of the ingredients on hand and I was going to make a stir-fry for dinner on Friday. I asked my guy to pick up ginger at the store…we’ll see what he comes up with! I’m going to use bok choy instead of the greens, though. And probably add some chicken to appease the boy.
What’s the best way to drain tofu? I always end up squishing it between my hands and then I’m left with a heap of tofu in my hand that’s crumbling apart.
I (often) gently press it with paper towels.
The stir fry looks delicious! Can’t wait to give it a try.
I love adding fresh mint in dishes, it’s always a nice flavor surprise and it sounds great in this dish. The arrival of fresh asparagus truly marks the arrival of spring even if it is still cold and rainy in the Northwest.
What amazing flavors! I’ll bet you could use bok choy in this instead of the spinach, too. Sometimes I get that stuff and start running out of ways to use it other than “plain.”
Oh, and I forgot to ask you a question. Can I use soy sauce instead of Hoisin sauce? would it change the taste marginally or make a big difference?
Hoisin sauce is sweeter, less salty and thicker. You can get away w/o using it here. Or maybe substitute a bit of brown sugar and a splash of soy sauce.
This looks and sounds amazing – I can’t get enough of asparagus lately, and your plate is beautiful!
This looks and sounds amazing – I can’t get enough of asparagus lately, and your plate is beautiful!
Hello from Santa Barbara! We will be pleased to celebrate asparagus time with this recipe. best, s
Wonderful! Asparagus season has arrived and it seems like everyone is fixing some wonderful creation with it. It is one of my favorite vegetables– and, happily, my kids’ too– so we are in vegetable heaven this time of year. This looks like a delicious take on it. Look forward to trying it.
On a happier note…yay for asparagus and spring! I just posted a recipe for a quinoa risotto using asparagus and fave beans. I love the idea of adding cashews for that extra crunch.
Oh my goodness, this combination of ingredients sounds delish. I haven’t cooked much with tofu, but I could probably be talked into it with asparagus, cashews, ginger, lime, and mint in the mix. Some of my favorites. Will have to try this.
Made your napa cabbage with peanut dressing last night (added the crisped tofu too) – what a great thing to do with that huge hunky cabbage my great aunt gave me for Easter. Funny gift, huh? It was a huge hunky hit.
That looks amazing, and I have all but one or two of the ingredients! Will definitely be making this this weekend!
can I tell you that I swooned…and I haven’t even made it yet? (asparagus is coming a bit slow in this part of the country!)
The other night I was cooking tofu in a non-stick pan, and it was so splattery and it stuck to the pan so much that I’m thinking I need to learn some secret tofu tricks before I try it again. sigh.
YUM! Love the mint in there.
I used to make stir fry all the time with my old boyfriend- it kept him busy and away from bad junk food while dinner was getting ready. He would chop- I did the rest.
This recipe is re-inspiring my love of the mix of veggies and spice. The mint and lime is so unique to have in there. And everything tastes beter with some crumbled cashews on top.
Looks really good and healthy. well done a winner for sure. 🙂 xx
I was wondering if there was something other than tofu that I could use? chicken maybe?
I’m in the process of getting my asparagus crowns into raised beds this spring. Can’t wait for my own supply of asparagus! This looks super yummy. I guess I’ll have to buy my stalks this year. I bet this would be good with green garlic or ramps too, both seasonal treats this time of year.
YUM! My favorite vegetable and a new recipe to try!
We’re just about two weeks away from asparagus season here in Rhode Island. I can’t wait — there’s an asparagus farm half an hour west of here, in a beautiful part of Connecticut, where you can go into the sorting room and buy asparagus cut that morning, sorted into five different sizes from pencil-thin to super-fat. It’s great fun to buy that way, and I’ve never had better asparagus.
Just last night we had our first of the season asparagus (w/simple orange glaze) and I was telling my daughter that I am on the lookout for more asparagus prep ideas. And now I open my e-mail to find this! Personally, I typically enjoy chopping vegetables by hand & approach it from a Zen perspective…so this recipe is perfect for me in more ways than one. Once again, thank you for sharing your talents!
I adore asparagus (have you read Kingsolver’s chapter about it in Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?). We have a large patch of it, but because it’s still early it’s coming up slow, though soon enough we’ll be inundated. Then I’ll be experimenting with all sorts of asparagus recipes and we’ll be eating it every meal. Asparagus is what spring is all about, no?
Nice combination of flavors. I love asparagus and I by some each week! I need new reciepes, thank you for yours…
I always get fascinated when I see fresh asparagus shining in the veggie section of my grocer, but feel clueless what I can make out of it other than roasting.
This recipe is the perfect solution!!
love the addition of cashews, btw.
wow Heidi — this looks fantastic! I’m getting this strange compulsion to run the Whole Foods and buy lots of asparagus… 😛
Aaahhh! Spare-Uh-Grass! : – 9
I just oven-roasted 1/2 a big bunch and was wondering what to do with the rest.
Now I know.
Here in the Midwest the “fresh” asparagus is shipped in and my mint is just beginning to show aboveground. Basil will have to be store-bought, but soon…soon…
Is there any way to fake hoisin?
Heidi,
This looks delicious and I am making this for dinner tonight.
I don’t have any tofu on hand, but I am some tempeh. Do you think that will be a good substitute ?
Yes! I’d consider steaming it first and then proceeding with the recipe.
Does this look delicious! Definitely one to try soon – on top of some brown rice or quinoa! YUM!
Funny. I have my favorite restaurant make this for me at least once a week. It’s not on the menu, but they have all the ingredients a’la carte and I crave it. They call it the TJ special and we needn’t go through all the instructions, etc unless there’s a new server. (Brown rice with it is best.)
I was headed out to lunch and about to order this very thing.
OH I thought of a question…
would this recipe double well?
Thanks, Heidi!
Stir-fries are tricky to double. Because you end up crowding the pan. I’d probably cook it in two different batches.
I adore asparagus! I believe they are my favorite green veggie, with brussel sprouts and artichokes tied for second! I have such bad luck with gardens, I’m afraid to try them!
I really love the mix you’ve created and can’t wait to try it!
SLURP!!!!!!!!
FANTASTIC!!!
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