Make Ahead

Oyster Sauce Glazed Asparagus and Mushrooms

by:
April  9, 2010
5
14 Ratings
Oyster Sauce Glazed Asparagus and Mushrooms
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This dish falls into the asparagus comfort food category in my mind. Its flavors are sweet, salty, and deep. The mushrooms help it feel satisfying and filling. But the star is the green spring asparagus. Both the asparagus and the mushrooms are sautéed in a dry pan to get some caramelized edges while retaining their lovely textures. —monkeymom

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: monkeymom is a scientist from the Bay Area.
WHAT: The springest, most delicate stir fry you'll ever meet.
HOW: Saute asparagus, then mushrooms, then toss it all in their sauce.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Turns out that oyster sauce is a perfect match for asparagus -- who knew? This recipe is a new way to celebrate spring produce -- the sauce has those stir-fry flavors we love, but is light enough to let the vegetables sing. The ridiculously quick cooking time is a bonus; we'll be making this as long as asparagus lasts. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound asparagus
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (shiitake are my favorite, but buttons work fine too. You can add more or less depending on what you have on hand)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 ginger slice peeled and minced
  • 1 pinch pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Cut asparagus into 2-inch long pieces. Try the roll cut: slice on a diagonal, then turn the spear one quarter turn and slice on the diagonal again.
  2. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, cornstarch, and sesame oil until cornstarch is well dissolved. Set this seasoning sauce aside. Heat skillet to high and put a cup of water by the skillet (for thinning the sauce later if you need to).
  3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet set on high heat. Add shallots and asparagus. Stir the vegetables around for about 5-7 minutes. You are looking to get some nice browning on the edges. Taste a bit as you go to make sure they get tender, but still have a little bite. Remove from pan to a bowl or plate.
  4. Heat 1 Tbsp oil and add mushrooms and some pepper. Stir mushrooms around on dry heat without adding any liquid. The mushrooms should shrink up and become browned.
  5. Add asparagus back to pan. Turn heat down to medium. Add 1 Tbsp more of oil and add garlic and ginger. Once you can smell the garlic, quickly add seasoning sauce. Stir to coat all vegetables in sauce. The sauce will reduce rapidly. You can add another tablespoon or two of water if you need to distribute the sauce better.
  6. Remove from pan and serve right away.
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monkeymom

Recipe by: monkeymom

My favorite distraction is to cook. Though science and cooking/baking have a lot in common, I'm finding that each allows me to enjoy very different parts of my life. Cooking connects me with my heritage, my family, friends, and community. I'm really enjoying learning from the food52 community, who expose me to different ingredients and new ways to cook.

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38 Reviews

beth
beth July 16, 2024
I made this last night and it was wonderful!! I hate to be one of those people that change the recipe, but I had zucchini and no asparagus so I used that. Everything else was the same. Served it on buckwheat noodles and we both loved it! Think the zucchini was a good texture and taste to sub with.
 
LyndsayW
LyndsayW June 23, 2024
Love this recipe; served it over brown rice. The tiny bit of sweetness is delicious and it doesn’t have that oily feel to it. Going to up the garlic and ginger next time, but everything else was perfect. Thank you!
 
Laura L.
Laura L. June 1, 2022
Delicious! Upped the garlic and ginger to about a tablespoon each, and used potato starch instead of cornstarch since it was already on the counter. Will definitely make again!
 
Gigibabe
Gigibabe October 13, 2021
SOY SAUCE IS NOT GLUTEN FREE!
 
CleanEating
CleanEating March 25, 2022
There are many gluten-free soy sauces these days. Just google it.
 
sharskee
sharskee September 25, 2020
Made this last night and was very good. Upped the garlic and I think you could easily double the sauce if you want more sauce for rice. I think the thickness wasn't quite right and might just be me but a good base to tinker with for your desire preferences. I am wondering how broccoli might do in this, as well (a lot of people subbed green beans with success).
 
liliana
liliana January 5, 2020
Drooling to serve this over pasta or a grain.
 
jpaster
jpaster January 1, 2020
Loved this dish!
 
sassygirl711
sassygirl711 March 12, 2019
a terrific recipe. not too salty but the flavors sing. i added 2X more garlic (no shame) and sub’d long green beans for asparagus. totally awesome! next version will be with asparagus. thanks for a great dish.
 
cookinginvictoria
cookinginvictoria July 2, 2016
Monkeymom, I have made this recipe so many times this spring with local asparagus. This is now one of our family's favorite asparagus recipes. The flavors are incredibly delicious and I love how quickly it all comes together.
 
Meagan C.
Meagan C. September 10, 2014
Incredible recipe! I upped the fresh ginger to about a tablespoon and used trimmed french green beans instead of asparagus. Served over steamed brown rice and some fresh green onions. Delicious!
 
Peter
Peter May 23, 2014
This recipe came out incredibly good, almost like it came straight off a dim sum cart. Great showcase of both the asparagus and mushrooms, and when both are cheap and plentiful. Thanks for the seasonal recipe!
 
ngua
ngua November 3, 2013
OK - one more question... sorry! How much ginger are you saying to use when you say '1 ginger slice' - is that 1" of ginger or some other measure? Thanks again!
 
monkeymom
monkeymom November 3, 2013
HI. 1 ginger slice is a thin slice, maybe 1/8 inch thick.
 
ngua
ngua October 30, 2013
Can you tell me how much in advance I can prepare this - or which parts can be done in advance, and which must be done right before serving? Preparing for a dinner party and would love not to have to be over the stove at the last minute along w everything else for that course. thanks!
 
monkeymom
monkeymom October 30, 2013
You can mix the sauce first and prep the vegetables. It is best to cook it right before serving. The cooking step is very fast!
 
ngua
ngua November 1, 2013
Thanks for replying! So you can mix it - even with the cornstarch in advance? How much in advance do you think? Also, how do you think it would be if you finished it all before and heated it up to serve? What would end up being less good about it? Thank you for all the info!
 
monkeymom
monkeymom November 2, 2013
Yes, you can mix the sauce all up. Just make sure you give it a good stir before you add it into the pan. If you precooked it first the vegetables would not be as crisp. The asparagus will get more limp and less appetizing.
 
ngua
ngua November 2, 2013
perfect - thanks so much for the detailed response!
 
vrunka
vrunka May 7, 2013
Just as I was wondering what to do with my all my farmer's market asparagus, I saw this recipe and made it for dinner tonight. And it was fantastic! Thanks for the great recipe and congrats on the win.
 
cheese1227
cheese1227 May 2, 2013
I just recently realized after finding an amazing Asian market here in Portland ME that there are two versions of Oyster Sauce one thick and sweetened and one thinner, more the consistency of fish sauce. Which variety are you using in this one?
 
EmilyC
EmilyC May 2, 2013
Huh, I had no idea that there are two versions of oyster sauce! I use the thick, sweetened type.
 
monkeymom
monkeymom May 2, 2013
Hi. Definitely the think and sweet kind. Make sure you get the kind with oyster extractives (whatever those are). Though I wonder how the other would be? Probably different but also could be quite good.
 
EmilyC
EmilyC May 1, 2013
Congrats on the WC win! One of my favorite ways to prepare broccoli is with garlic and oyster sauce, so I know I'll love this!
 
creamtea
creamtea May 1, 2013
Congratulations on the Wildcard win! I plan to try this (sans oyster sauce, tho')
 
Fairmount_market
Fairmount_market May 1, 2013
This looks wonderful! I'm going to make it tonight.
 
monkeymom
monkeymom May 1, 2013
Wow, what a surprise! I saw the picture and title and thought "that looks familiar" and it turns out it was my recipe! I was actually just at San Tung Restaurant in SF this weekend (amazing fried chicken wings!!), saw their stir fried asparagus and thought I should try to make that one too...will work on it. So happy to see this, thank you for picking it and also to all for the kind comments.
 
healthierkitchen
healthierkitchen May 1, 2013
sounds wonderful! Looking forward to the fresh asparagus season!