Lightly caramelized carrots with bright green asparagus deliver the quintessential Asian dark brown flavor of sesame and soy.

This simple (you might even say basic) dish is not only deliciously traditional in flavor, it is ready to serve in under 30 minutes, and its healthy as well. Thats three out of three in my book.

Ingredients:
24 fresh asparagus stalks (firm, no wilting allowed)
5 carrots (hard, no bending)
¹/₄ cup of water
1 tablespoon of finely grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon of reduced sodium soy sauce
1¹/₂ teaspoons of sesame oil (the dark kind, if you have it)
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds

Serves: 3
Total Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Tip: Once you get this recipe under way, with you know - the cooking bits, there is not a lot of time to sit around and contemplate why we’re all here, or where ear wax comes from, much less chopping things up, and scurrying around in the pantry looking for that bottle of soy you are sure you bought the other day. Have things prepared and ready to dump into the wok when needed. Trust me, its a lot less stressful, and a happy chef makes happy food.

The Eight Step Program:
1. Slice the carrots ¹/₄ inch thick on a horizontal angle, exposing a large area of interior of the carrot on both sides of the slice. This will allow the heat, sauce, and oils to work on them which provides us with a light caramelization of their natural sugars.

Carrots are a source of vitamins A, K, C, dietary fiber, potassium, B6, manganese, molybdenum, B1, B3, phosphorus, magnesium and folate.

2. Trim any gigantic trunks off the asparagus stalks. You ultimately want them to be relatively uniform in size at the base with the bulk of the upper stalk. Slice the asparagus as you did the carrots but to a thickness of half an inch. This will allow the heat to penetrate the thick outer layer and provide us with nice even cooking in the short amount of time that the asparagus will be exposed to the heat.

Asparagus is a source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, K, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc and folate.

3. Place a large nonstick wok (if you must, a large frying pan will do in a pinch) over scorchingly high heat and give it a brief go around with non-stick cooking spray (or a drop or two of canola oil).

4. When the pan is hot (test with a single drop of water, not any part of your body), bring the temperature down to just barely high, and add the carrots immediately.

5. Stir-fry the carrots for 4 minutes. Keep the carrots on the move and don’t be afraid to lift the wok off the heat and shake the carrots around for a little while to give them a breather if the heat is being a little aggressive (Bonus: anyone watching you will think you’ve got some real wok flare if you do this occasionally anyway).

6. Add the asparagus and water (without looking like a sissy (again in case anyone is watching), keep your tender parts away from the wok when you do this). Toss the carrots and asparagus until they are combined. Cover the wok and let them cook for 2 minutes.

7. Uncover the wok and add the ginger. Make sure you continue stir-frying to ensure that the delicate ginger doesn’t immediately sear to the pan. Continue this for another 2 minutes.

8. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Stir-fry all of the ingredients so that the carrots and asparagus as well coated, then serve.