Sesame Asparagus Salad

Tonight I made a simple asparagus salad to accompany the Sweet Chili Grilled Prawns. With the dog days of summer here, this dish keeps you out of the kitchen and away from the stove, but delivers loads of flavor. This dish is great with the grilled prawns, but would also be wonderful with beef or chicken. This recipe is a tweak on this recipe from the AllRecipes website – a great resource for creative dishes. I added shallots and substituted Chinese mustard for the dijon mustard; it just seemed like the better choice in my humble opinion. The results are flavorful, so make this dish and eat your vegetables!

Save Print

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

6 oz asparagus, tough ends removed
½ oz shallot, thinly sliced
1½ tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp red wine vinegar
½ tsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
¼ tsp honey
¼ tsp Chinese mustard (or dijon mustard)
1 tsp peanut oil
1 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Make the dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, honey, fish sauce, and mustard.
Adding slowly in a thin stream, whisk the peanut and sesame oil to create an emulsion with the dressing.

Cook the asparagus - grill method

Drizzle 1 - 2 tsp peanut oil over the asparagus and sprinkle with togarishi, tossing to coat.
Grill the asparagus over High heat for 1 - 2 minutes a side, until bright green.
This step depends on the thickness of the asparagus.
Cut the asparagus into 1½ inch diagonal slices.

Cook the asparagus - boil method

Cut into 1½ inch diagonal slices and boil in salted water for 3 - 4 minutes until bright green.
Add ice and water to a large bowl while the asparagus is cooking.
Remove the asparagus to the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and drain.

Build the salad

Add the asparagus and shallot to a bowl.
Drizzle the dressing over top and toss to coat.
Sprinkle sesame seeds over top, if desired.

Notes

The mustard in the dressing helps create the emulsion so the oil does not separate once combined.

Make the dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, honey, fish sauce, and mustard. Adding slowly in a thin stream, whisk the peanut and sesame oil to create an emulsion with the dressing.

Cook the asparagus – grill method

Drizzle 1 – 2 tsp peanut oil over the asparagus and sprinkle with togarishi, tossing to coat.
Grill the asparagus over High heat for 1 – 2 minutes a side, until bright green. This step depends on the thickness of the asparagus.
Cut the asparagus into 1 1/2 inch diagonal slices.

Cook the asparagus – boil method

Cut into 1 1/2 inch diagonal slices and boil in salted water for 3 – 4 minutes until bright green.
Remove the asparagus to the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and drain.

Build the salad
Add the asparagus and shallot to a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over top and toss to coat.