Name: Cashew Chicken and Asparagus
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar; 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce; 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided; 2 Tbsp. sugar; 2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. cornstarch; 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil; 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved crosswise, sliced against the grain into ½"-thick strips (about the size of french fries); 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided; ⅔ cup roasted cashews, preferably unsalted; 2 bunches asparagus, woody ends trimmed, tips reserved, sliced on a diagonal into ¾"-long pieces; 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped; 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped; Kosher salt (optional); Steamed white rice (for serving; optional)

Chicken breast chopped asparagus and cashews in a sauce on a serving platter and served with rice.

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Sometimes it feels like we endure winter merely for the impending promise of asparagus. Good local asparagus is a spring delight, something easy to forget when some supermarkets are populated with the stalks in the dead of winter. Asparagus brings the full strength of its snappy, fresh, intensely green flavor to this cashew chicken, the crunch of the vegetable echoed in the crunch of the nuts. Have all of your ingredients prepped and lined up next to the stove because the actual cooking goes by in the blink of an eye. Asparagus, especially when sliced, needs barely any cooking, so keep things hot and moving fast.

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