Stir-fried Asparagus with Beef
Stir-fried asparagus with beef is a simple, nutritious and quick dish to make for busy weeknights. The combination of tender beef, crisp asparagus, and sweet carrot delivers a satisfying balance of flavors and textures.
This stir-fry uses just a handful of fresh, everyday ingredients: beef, asparagus, carrot, garlic and basic Asian seasonings like oyster sauce and fish sauce. To keep the beef juicy and tender, we will toss it with some cornstarch and a little water before cooking.
As for the asparagus, I recommend trimming off the woody end or use a vegetable peeler to peel off the skin from the bottom part of the asparagus spears like I did in this creamy gnocchi asparagus recipe. Then slice them on an angle to make them look more attractive in the final dish and increase their surface areas to be coated with flavors during cooking.
The cooking process is very straightforward. As with most stir-fries such as this beef and green beans stir-fry, it is best to cook the beef and vegetables separately so that each ingredient turns out with the right doneness and texture.
Normally, I would use my Lodge cast iron skillet to stir-fry meat dishes, but this time I decided to try it with my Staub enameled cast iron pan. Since the beef was coated with cornstarch, I was a little concerned it might stick, but it turned out fine with no stickiness.
What I did was adding oil to coat the bottom of the pan from the beginning. Then let it heat up gradually, starting from low heat for several minutes and then increasing to medium heat for a little more time. If you also use an enameled cast iron pan, I hope this will be helpful.
⭐️ I’d love to hear what you think about the dish, so please feel free to leave a comment and a rating if you have tried it. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.
Stir-fried Asparagus with Beef
Ingredients
- 8 oz beef, thinly sliced against the grain (flank steak is great for stir-frying)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more to adjust seasonings)
- black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1½ teaspoons cooking oil (plus more for cooking)
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
- 2 oz peeled and thinly sliced carrots
- 10.5-12 oz trimmed asparagus, cut on a diagonal into 2-inch long pieces
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ¼ teaspoon fish sauce
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine sliced beef with ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Mix well and then add 1½ teaspoons cooking oil and give it another toss. Set aside to marinate for about 10 minutes.
- Place a pan over medium heat and add cooking oil to coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add the beef and let it sear undisturbed briefly. Then stir-fry quickly and remove from the pan when the beef is still slightly pink.
- Add the remaining minced garlic to the same pan and stir-fry until fragrant. Add carrot and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.
- Continue to add asparagus to the pan and stir-fry together with the carrot for about 4 minutes until crisp-tender. You can add a tablespoon of water to the pan to help soften the vegetables if needed.
- Return the beef to the pan and add the oyster sauce. Mix well. Once everything has been cooked through, add the fish sauce and adjust seasonings with a little more salt if needed. Give everything a final toss.
- Transfer to serving plates and sprinkle with black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy & Delicious Beef Recipes
You can find my favorite beef recipes here. Below are some of the most popular ones:
- Black Pepper Beef
- Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad (Bún Bò Nam Bộ)
- Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Stew (Bò Kho)
- Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Beef
- Vietnamese Rare Beef in Lime Juice Salad
