This gluten free Asparagus with Black Bean Butter Sauce is a recipe I think to make at the first sign of spring. In late March asparagus bundles appear in grocery stores, despite the snow in my garden, and it's the best time to make all your asparagus recipes.
Gluten free cooks want to enjoy flavours from around the world and they should! I serve this recipe with Chinese Chicken Balls, plain roast chicken, poached salmon or even this Salmon in Chinese Pesto. You might think the Chinese pesto is too much but I'm all about the sauce.
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Ingredients
Asparagus is high in fibre, nutritious and delicious. When at its’ peak, asparagus has the best taste and should have the best price.
- asparagus
- fermented black beans - see this post to learn about Chinese black beans.
- garlic
- cornstarch
- butter
- gluten free chicken stock
- dry sherry
- gluten free soy sauce
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Is Thin Asparagus Better Than Thick
No, thin asparagus is not better or fresher than thick stalks. The diameter of the stalk has to do with the age of the plant. Here's what you need to know.
- Thick stalks stand up best in the high heat when broiling, grilling or roasting.
- Thin stalks will shrivel up with that heat so are better suited to steaming and stir-frying.
What Are Fermented Black Beans and Where To Buy Them
If these Chinese black soybeans are new to you they have a unique umami taste and the flavours will explode in your mouth.
Umami, or savouriness, is our fifth basic taste alongside sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. You do not need to remember that to enjoy the flavours of fermented black beans but foodies like to know stuff like that.
You can learn more about this unique ingredient and how to use it in this post, Fermented Chinese Black Beans.
Buy these Chinese black beans at an Asian store or well-stocked international section of a large grocery store. I've been buying this same brand in it's recognizable round, yellow cardboard box by Yang Jiang for over thirty years.
10 Asparagus Recipes
The first four are the recipes that immediately come to mind when you say asparagus. Try any and every way while asparagus is in season because it's a long time until it's back again.
- This Asian fusion recipe for Asparagus with Black Bean Butter Sauce served with steamed fish or grilled chicken.
- In creamy Pasta Primavera, Chicken Pesto Pasta or just tossed on top of Fettuccini Alfredo.
- Salmon on Greens with Asparagus
- Chicken in Madeira Cream Sauce for those of you who stock your liquor cabinet for cooking.
- Simply steamed with butter, salt and pepper alongside almost any main course dish.
- Grilled Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto
- Included in an Everyday Vegetable Stir-Fry
- In a spring version of risotto.
- California Pizza dough topped with asparagus (so many delicious combinations)
- Throw asparagus in Egg Muffins, Frittata or Quiche.
Top Tip
Despite the fact that you see asparagus in the grocery store at Christmas, it is at its' peak in spring. As the season goes on the price increases and the quality declines. Challenge yourself to make as many asparagus recipes as you can before it disappears.
Asparagus with Black Bean Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs asparagus , ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon fermented black beans , rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon butter
SAUCE
- ½ cup gluten free chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
FINISHING
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Coarsely chop fermented black beans. Combine with garlic and set aside.
- In a 1-cup measuring cup combine chicken stock, sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and pepper.
ASPARAGUS
- Fill large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
- Add asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
SAUCE
- In a small bowl whisk cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
- Place 2 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch skillet set over medium-high heat.
- When butter sizzles add black beans and garlic. Sauté just until the garlic sizzles.
- Add sauce and bring to a low boil.
- Add cornstarch mixture and immediately stir sauce until thickened. (For a thinner sauce add only half of the cornstarch mixture.)
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter.
- Arrange asparagus in serving dish. Pour on sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dick Lunde
Waaay back in the 70s, my wife and I took some cooking lessons at a Chinese grocery store in Chicago. Several of the recipes we learned used fermented black beans. One of my favorites, which I've made now and again over the years, is chicken and vegetables in black bean and garlic sauce. I've also had this in a number of restaurants. I usually make it (or ask the restaurant to make it) a little spicy. We also use them in a steamed fish dish and a few other things.
Your black bean butter sauce for asparagus sounds good. I'll probably try it once I get some black beans again. I used to be able to get them at a local oriental store, but they stopped carrying them, and a couple of other local oriental stores carry premade sauces, but not the dry salted beans. They are, of course, available on Amazon, and they'll be on my next order. I appreciate your identification of Yang Jiang as a good brand-- I was wondering which to order.
Thanks,
Dick
Cinde Little
Hi Dick, thanks for sharing those memories! I started buying Yang Jiang black beans way back in the 80's. 🙂 I too remember a steamed fish recipe I used to make with them. I'm sure you remember when you couldn't even buy black bean sauce in a jar. When I started cooking gluten free I was happy to know I had so many recipes (somewhere in my files) to easily make a gluten free version. Black bean sauce and kecap manis were the first two I made since I love all things Asian. Let me know what you make when you get your black beans. Cheers!