Food & Cooking Recipes Dinner Recipes Dinner Side Dishes Stir-Fried Asparagus 4.1 (19) Add your rating & review It's one of our fastest and simplest side dishes. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 29, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Jake Sternquist Servings: 4 This stir-fried asparagus recipe uses a minimal ingredient list—simply salt, pepper, and olive oil—yet it all comes together to create maximum flavor—and in less than 10 minutes. The flavor of the vegetable shines through in this simple preparation, and pairs well with all kinds of proteins. You don’t need a wok or to be a stir-fry pro to make it—and once you try it, you'll be a fan. 31 Asparagus Recipes That Make the Most of Our Favorite Spring Vegetable The Best Asparagus for Stir-Frying While any asparagus works for this stir-fried side dish, look for the freshest asparagus you can find. You can make this stir-fry with thin, fat, or medium-sized asparagus spears, but our preference is for medium or thinner ones. Fatter ones will take longer to cook. How to Wash and Prep Asparagus for Cooking Wash asparagus carefully under cold running water to remove any traces of fine grit that can linger in the tips. Asparagus spears have woody ends and many cooks use the bend and snap technique to remove them. Taking one spear at a time, they bend it until it snaps, discarding the lower part. Others argue that is wasteful and time-consuming, and recommend cutting the ends off the spears. This technique makes sense when you will need your chopping board and knife to cut the asparagus into thirds for stir-frying. Line up asparagus on chopping board; identify where tough part starts (often where the stem starts to fade to white).Use a sharp knife to chop rough ends off all spears at once. How to Cut Asparagus 4 Different Ways Ingredients 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into thirds ½ teaspoon coarse salt Pinch of freshly ground black pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons water Directions Jake Sternquist Heat oil and cook asparagus: In a nonstick skillet or a wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the asparagus, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Jake Sternquist Add water and cook: Add the water, and continue to cook until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 3 minutes more. Jake Sternquist Frequently Asked Questions Why shouldn’t you break off the ends of asparagus? Breaking the ends off the asparagus is a popular way to prepare it for cooking, but it’s not our preferred method as it wastes more asparagus than trimming the tough ends off all the asparagus at one time. Using a knife is also a time saver. Do I need to blanch asparagus before stir-frying it? Blanching is used for some asparagus recipes, but this stir-fry recipe calls for small pieces of asparagus that cook quickly on the stovetop. Blanching the asparagus would result in overcooked, soft asparagus that lacked the crisp but cooked texture of stir-fried asparagus. Can you prep the asparagus ahead of time for this dish? You can prep the asparagus ahead of time, but we don’t recommend it. The recipe is quick to cook and calls for small pieces of asparagus that could dry out if you washed and cut them ahead of cooking. If you wanted to prep the asparagus an hour or two before, that would work fine. Other Stir Fry Recipes to Try: Celery-Tofu Stir Fry Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Broccoli Steak and Asparagus Stir Fry Broccolini and Mushroom Stir Fry Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.