Asparagus Stir-Fry

Tonight, I ventured into the realm of stir-fry.  I'll start out by saying it wasn't a complete success for two reasons.  First, I used frozen asparagus and it wasn't firm enough to hold any semblance of crispness.  Second, I cooked it too long, but the asparagus would have been "soggy" regardless because of it coming from a frozen state. If the asparagus had been fresh, it still would have been slightly crisp, which would have been much better.  That being said, this was still a very good dish.

I began by chopping, zesting, and juicing to my heart's content.  I even group the ingredients together according to the recipe so it would be easier to grab them and throw them into the wok.  While the preparation took a half hour or so, the cooking went fast.  I started by cooking the tofu.

After the tofu was golden brown, I set it aside and cooked the asparagus, onions, and a couple of spices.  Cook a minute and add the spinach, cashews, and lime juice and zest.  One of the amazing things was just how many different flavors I could taste in the finished dish.  The crushed red pepper gave it just the right amount of heat (you must love heat to put it in), and it contrasted nicely with the lime and the fresh mint.  I didn't think that the flavors would all meld like they did, but it was very nice.  

I ate mine plain, without rice or noodles, but I really think it would be best with either brown rice or whole wheat noodles.  I was concentrating so hard on getting the stir-fry right (I never stir-fry and this is my first time preparing and eating tofu), that I totally spaced off cooking some rice to go with it.  I have leftovers, so I'll cook some brown rice for the leftover dish.  You can find this recipe at 101 Cookbooks Asparagus Stir-Fry.