Recently, I’ve been reminiscing about traveling in Asia and remembered a chili crab dish that I ate in Hong Kong 10 years ago. My friend and I split a huge plate of stir fried crab topped with a mountain of fried garlic and chili peppers. Inspired by the memories of this delectable chili crab, I decided to pile a bunch of roasted garlic and chili crisp over roasted asparagus. The preparation is simple: roast asparagus, fry minced garlic, and top asparagus with fried garlic and Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp. This chili garlic roasted asparagus is great when you don’t have much time to prepare dinner, and you want to whip up something special in a pinch.
A NOTE ABOUT LAO GAN MA
Lao Gan Ma, 老干妈 (simplified), 老乾媽 (traditional), is an iconic brand of chili sauce that you’ll find in many Chinese families’ pantries. The phrase “lao gan ma” translates to “old godmother” in English, and it refers to the founder, Tao Huabi, 陶华碧 (simplified), 陶華碧 (traditional). In the late-1980s, Tao Huabi ran a noodle shop, and served her hot sauce as a condiment. That condiment proved to be very popular. By the 1990s, she began mass producing the chili sauce, which has been sold widely in China and all over the world. In an attempt to replicate the success of Lao Gan Ma, many food companies have also created their own versions of the chili sauce. There are many varieties of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, but my favorite is the spicy chili crisp. It contains crushed chili peppers, onions, soybeans, and spices. What makes the hot sauce distinct is the crispy texture of the ingredients, which add a pleasant crunch to any dish. To me, the chili crisp is mildly spicy, but other people may disagree!
HOW TO MAKE CHILI & GARLIC ROASTED ASPARAGUS
HOW TO PICK ASPARAGUS
The first step to making a good roasted asparagus dish is picking the right asparagus. When you’re shopping for asparagus, look for spears of medium thickness, about 1/2 inches thick. For this recipe, I find pencil thin asparagus isn’t substantial enough and very chunky asparagus can be too stringy. Next, look at the bottoms of the spears. Try to avoid bunches of asparagus with spears that have dry or woody bottoms. Ideally, the tips of the spears should be pointed and tight (i.e., it shouldn’t look like it’s blooming).
PREPPING ASPARAGUS
I like to snap off the bottoms of the asparagus. Each spear has a natural breaking point that separates the fresh part of the asparagus from the drier part. If the bottom of the spear looks dry and shriveled, I’ll snap the asparagus right above that point. If there’s a section that’s white or purple, I’ll snap it right above that section too as it tends to be tough. Alternatively, if the spear looks very fresh, I’ll snap very little off the bottom. Then, give the asparagus a rinse and dry them with a towel.
ROAST ASPARAGUS
Grab a baking sheet and spread the asparagus over the baking sheet in a single layer. Next, drizzle a tiny bit of oil over the spears and rub the oil over the asparagus with your hands. Then, sprinkle a small pinch of salt and bake them at 400ºF for 8 to 9 minutes. If you’re roasting thicker spears, roast them for 10 to 11 minutes; roast pencil thin spears for 7 to 8 minutes.
FRY GARLIC
Mince several cloves of garlic. I usually mince 4 large cloves of garlic, which should yield about 3 to 4 tablespoons of minced garlic. Then, drizzle some oil in a skillet and fry the garlic over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir constantly to keep the garlic from burning. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of salt over the garlic too. Once most of the garlic takes on a light golden color, turn off the heat and transfer the garlic to a bowl immediately. You don’t want to leave the garlic in the pan as the garlic will continue browning and can burn, leading to bitter garlic.
FINISH GARLIC ROASTED ASPARAGUS
Transfer the roasted asparagus to a serving plate. I like drizzling a bit of hot sesame oil over the asparagus for some spicy nutty flavor but that’s optional. Finally, spread the fried garlic and Lao Gan Ma chili crisp over the roasted asparagus.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHILI GARLIC ROASTED ASPARAGUS
Jasmine RiceEgg Fried RiceTeriyaki TofuSweet Chili ShrimpSticky Chicken ThighsYou can find more rice dishes or noodle dishes here.
