Spicy Sesame Asparagus

This is a delicious recipe with little preparation. It's about 2 servings and my favorite way to eat it is with a side of brown rice! I prefer to use skinny asparagus because it shortens cooking time since I don't have to skin the spears and it softens quicker. 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil OR enough for 2 turns in a frying pan
1 clove of garlic
1/2 lb skinny asparagus
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
salt
pepper
1/8 tsp sesame seeds

Preparation

Trim about 3/4 inch off the bottom of the asparagus.  Slice the asparagus into 2 inch pieces at a diagonal.  To remove skin from a piece of garlic, place underneath the chopping board and forcefully press down. The skin of the garlic will separate and be easy to remove. Minch garlic. 
Next, combine soy sauce, sugar and corn starch. Stir until everything is dissolved.

Directions

Coat a frying pan with about two turns of extra virgin olive oil. Place over medium heat. When the pan is thoroughly heated, add minced garlic. You will know when the oil is completely heated through when you add a single piece of minced garlic and it immediately begins to sizzle. Stir garlic for 15 seconds. Add asparagus. Let cook for about 4 minutes or until the asparagus is just soft, stirring occasionally. Add soy sauce mixture and toss asparagus until all pieces are coated. Remove from heat. Add crushed red peppers and a couple dashes of salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add sesame seeds!


As with anything that adds heat, you can always adjust how much crushed red pepper to add. I like all my foods on the spicier side so if you're like me, this is just the right amount of spice without being overwhelming!