Chicken & Asparagus Stir-Fry with Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 300 g chicken breast (2 fillets of about 150 g each)
• 400 g green asparagus (1 bunch, about 300 g once trimmed)
• 150 g jasmine rice
• 300 ml water (225 for the rice, 75 for the sauce)
• 2 garlic cloves + 15 g fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the chicken, 1 for the sauce)
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 tsp cornflour (2 for the chicken, 1 for the sauce)
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 4 tsp groundnut oil (2 for the chicken, 2 for the asparagus)
• 1 spring onion + 1 tsp sesame seeds (to serve)
• Black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Wok or large frying pan
• Saucepan with lid
• Colander
• Bowl
• Fine grater
• Kitchen knife

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear. Cook it in a saucepan with 225 ml water: bring to the boil, cover and leave for 12 min over very low heat, then 10 min off the heat without lifting the lid.
2. Cut the chicken breast into thin strips about 1 cm wide, across the grain so they stay tender. Mix them in a bowl with 1 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tsp cornflour, then leave to rest for 10 min.
3. Snap off the tough base of each asparagus spear: when you bend the stalk, it breaks naturally where it becomes woody. Cut the asparagus diagonally into 4 cm pieces. Chop the garlic, grate the ginger and slice the spring onion.
4. Make the sauce in a glass: mix 1 tbsp soy sauce, the oyster sauce, the sugar, 1 tsp cornflour and 75 ml water until the cornflour has fully dissolved, with no lumps.
5. Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok over high heat until it is just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer, sear for 2 min without stirring, then for 2 min while stirring, until golden and white all the way through. Set aside on a plate.
6. Pour the rest of the oil into the wok, add the asparagus and stir-fry for 3 min over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds without letting them burn: the asparagus should stay bright green and slightly crunchy.
7. Return the chicken to the wok, stir the sauce (the cornflour sinks to the bottom of the glass) and pour it all in at once. Stir for 1 min, until it thickens and turns glossy, coating the chicken and asparagus. Season with pepper.
8. Fluff up the rice with a fork and divide it between two plates. Add the stir-fry, then sprinkle with spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve immediately, while the asparagus is still crunchy.