Deep Fried Beans and Asparagus

This receipe serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish. We adapted the recipe from "The Stir-Fry Cookbook" 100 fun and fresh recipes for the one stop cook.

8 oz green beans, cut in half

8 oz baby asparagus, cut in half

1 1/4 cup

oil for deep frying

1-2 green chiles

1 2-inch ginger grated

4 T yellow bean sauce (we used black bean sauce)

1 T dry sherry

We could not find yellow bean sauce so we used black bean sauce so our beans turned out darker. However, we felt the 4T was too much, the dish was too salty so I would recommend using 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.

Cover the beans and asparagus with boiling water, let stand for 5 minutes then drain and pat dry. Heat the oil in the wok or skillet. Deep fry the beans and asparagus in small batches for 2 minutes. Remove from the wok with a slotted draining spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain the oil from the wok/skillet, reserving 1 T, then wipe the wok/skillet clean. Add the oil and stir fry the chiles, and ginger for 1 minute. Add the fried beans and asparagus to the wok. Blend the bean sauce with 2 T water and pour into the wok with the sherry. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the veggies are hot. Serve immediately.

Next, time we might try hoison sauce on the side instead of bean sauce!