On Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:42:23 GMT, James Silverton wrote:

> blake wrote on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:33:21 GMT:
>
>> On Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:31:30 GMT, James Silverton wrote:
>>>
>>> Asparagus at its best should be fresh looking and mostly
>>> green. I prefer it pencil-thin and then you just bend the
>>> stalk and move along until it snaps easily. If you buy the
>>> thick stuff, cut off any brownish parts and use a vegetable
>>> peeler to remove the last few inches of skin.
>>>
>>> I usually cook asparagus by boiling or steaming for 6-8
>>> minutes. I also use it in Chinese stir fries after blanching
>>> for 2-3 minutes and cutting into 2 inch pieces on the
>>> diagonal.
>
>> have you tried using asparagus in stir-fries without blanching
>> first? i'm just curious.
>
> It's a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I simply follow the
> recipe where it was first suggested. Perhaps, I'll try omitting the
> blanching next time, at least if I am using thin asparagus.

maybe i just like semi-raw vegetables, but i usually omit any blanching
called for in stir-fry recipes. or possibly i'm just lazy.

your pal,
blake