Sesame Asparagus Salad Recipes

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH GINGER AND SESAME

Steps:

• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, stir together rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Add jalapeño and sesame oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Snap or cut off the tough bottoms of each asparagus spear. With a vegetable peeler, peel each tough-skinned spear, starting halfway down from tip and peeling toward bottom end.
• Cut the asparagus at a long diagonal into very thin slices (not paper thin - about the width of a thinly sliced onion). Place asparagus slices in a wide salad bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss lightly. Add the ginger dressing and toss to coat well. Taste and adjust. Add scallions and lime juice and toss again.
• Garnish with mint leaves and cilantro sprigs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

ASPARAGUS SPEARS WITH SESAME

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath: Fill a large bowl halfway with ice cubes and add some cold water. Place a colander squarely inside the ice bath. The colander will keep you from having to pick the asparagus out from amongst the ice cubes in the ice bath.
• Add salt until the boiling water tastes like seawater. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes - you want them to be crunchy. If the asparagus are thin, cook for only 1 minute. Remove the asparagus from the water with a strainer and transfer them to the colander inside the ice bath. Allow them to cool completely for a few minutes and then place them on a kitchen towel to drain any excess moisture.
• Toss the asparagus, sesame seeds, and the sauce together and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to serve.

ASPARAGUS SALAD, JAPANESE-STYLE

Steps:

• Cut off the woodsy bottoms of the asparagus spears; discard. Cut off the flower ends and set aside.
• Use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark green outer skin of each spear; you should get three or four ribbons from each one. Set aside. Cut the remaining stalks crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Combine ribbons, sliced rounds and tips in a bowl.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-heat, shaking occasionally until they color and begin to pop, but remove from heat before they burn. Combine the seeds with sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Taste and adjust as necessary. Spoon over the asparagus and toss gently.

SESAME BEEF & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. Place steak on a broiler pan. Broil 2-3 in. from heat until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°), 6-7 minutes per side. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing., In a large saucepan, bring 1/2 in. water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, just until crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain and cool. , Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and ginger; toss with beef and asparagus. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. If desired, serve over lettuce with carrot, radishes, cilantro and lime wedges.

SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Trim tough ends from asparagus spears. Set spears aside.
• Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and half of the asparagus in a single layer.
• Cook for 3 to 4 minutes without turning. Shake pan occasionally. Turn, and cook 3 minutes more. Asparagus should be bright green with brown spots.
• Add 1 tablespoon shallots and half the sesame seeds, and cook, shaking the pan to toss asparagus, for 1 to 2 minutes or until shallots are transparent. Do not let them burn.
• Add half the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper, and cook 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm. Repeat with remaining asparagus. Keep warm until ready to serve.

SESAME ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine asparagus and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-8 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Drain. Place asparagus in a large bowl and chill. Just before serving, add romaine, onion and pimientos. In a small bowl, whisk sesame seeds, lemon juice, oil, pepper, basil and salt; pour over salad and toss.

ASPARAGUS & COURGETTE SALAD WITH FETA & SESAME SEEDS

Steps:

• Heat a small frying pan and add the sesame seeds. Cook, shaking the pan and making sure the seeds don't burn. When they are fragrant and have turned a light teak colour, tip them onto a saucer.
• Steam the asparagus for 3-4 mins until almost done. Drop into a bowl of iced water to cool, then drain and wrap in a tea towel to dry really well. Cook the peas for 3 mins in the boiling water used to steam the asparagus, then drain and cool under a cold tap. Slice the courgettes on the diagonal, about 0.5cm thick.
• Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush the asparagus and courgette slices with the oil, and cook in batches until nicely striped with dark brown. Cut the asparagus into 5cm lengths.
• Mix the asparagus, courgettes, peas, rocket, feta and lemon zest. Grind over some black pepper and sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.

GRILLED SOY-SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Preheat grill for high heat.
• In a bowl, mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar. Place asparagus in the bowl, and toss to coat.
• Lightly oil a fine-mesh grill grate. Place asparagus on grate, and cook 8 minutes, until tender but firm. Garnish with sesame seeds to serve.

LEMON-SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Place the asparagus in a large pot filled with water 1 inch deep. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, but still bright green. This will take about 5 minutes, or longer if your asparagus spears are thick. Drain and place on a serving dish.
• Meanwhile, melt the margarine or butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sesame seeds, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown and toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, pour sauce over the cooked asparagus.

ASPARAGUS & CHICKEN SALAD WITH SESAME GINGER DRESSING

Steps:

• Cut chicken breasts into strips (6-8 pieces per breast). Place in shallow bowl. Add sesame oil, minced garlic, rice vinegar and tamari and turn pieces to coat. Marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Trim tough ends from asparagus. Heat 1 tsp (5 mL) oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and sauté approximately five minutes until tender crisp. Roll the spears in the pan to coat with oil and encourage even cooking on all sides. Set aside to cool. Slice on an angle into ½ inch (1.25 cm) pieces.
• Heat another teaspoon (5 mL) oil in pan asparagus was sautéed in. Add chicken strips and cook until lightly browned and cooked through (165°F (74°C)) - about 5 minutes per side. Pour over any remaining marinade during cooking. Boil and set aside to cool.
• Shred romaine lettuce and cabbage and add to large salad bowl. Top with the grated carrot and slivers of orange pepper.
• To make the dressing, measure sunflower oil, rice vinegar, water, ground ginger, garlic, ketchup, honey, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, sesame oil, sesame seeds and tamari into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
• To serve, pile romaine salad high in centre of dinner plate. Garnish with sliced green onions and a few chive sprigs. Serve with sesame ginger dressing.

SESAME ASPARAGUS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Snap off tough ends of asparagus.
• Place asparagus and 1/4 cup water in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
• Microwave at high 3 minutes or until tender, drain, pour the vinegar mixture over asparagus, toss well.
• Serve at room temperature or chilled.
• Sprinkle with sesame seed, if desired.

CHILLED ASPARAGUS WITH SESAME VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cook asparagus in large skillet of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. Arrange on platter. Mix sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Asparagus and dressing can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.) Spoon dressing over asparagus. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.