Paper-Thin Asparagus With Butter & Soy Sauce

“Of us that frolicked with James in his kitchens in Greenwich Village continually infamous what a huge improviser he was,” James Beard’s biographer, John Birdsall, tells me in an e-mail. “He’d open the fridge, hotfoot spherical, snatch things off the cupboards of his cupboards, and concoct one thing stunning and appetizing. He had a successfully-developed sense of model and steadiness, and he stocked his kitchen with good substances (Maldon flake salt he’d snarl from Harrods in London, as an instance).”

This asparagus recipe—even though it’s no longer regularly a recipe, and extra a single clause in Beard’s memoir Delights and Prejudices: “decrease in paper-thin diagonal slices and tossed with butter and soy for 2 or three minutes in a scorching skillet, which provides it a toothsome texture”—is my finest try at interpreting what the bachelor connoisseur claims to love cooked for himself when he dined by myself.

I’ve found that you just might maybe perhaps use whatever raw greens you like gotten (be it asparagus, broccoli, or sugar snap peas). Worthwhile be sure to prick them paper-thin in insist that they cook quick, and toss them in a scorching pan with the butter and soy sauce for no extra than two minutes. What this model is the raw fringe of the vegetable gets cooked off while still striking forward its crunch.

And even though Birdsall was ready to verify that Beard’s wording, “paper-thin diagonal slices,” most definitely meant stalks decrease on the bias (about one- to two-spin pieces), there’s one thing marvelous about eating diversified shapes of the the same vegetable, all with quite diversified textures. The mix is, for me, what makes this dish especially “toothsome.”

Loosely adapted from a really appropriate line in Delights and Prejudices by James Beard. —Eric Kim

Directions

1. Heat a skillet over excessive heat and soften the butter. Add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and cook for one other minute or so, unless the butter and soy sauce bubble up into a sticky glaze. Serve with white rice.