Asparagus Sautee with Shrimp Paste

My MIL recently had had enough of asparagus from her garden, so she asked me whether I would like to get the rest of them. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity! Who would not want such freshly harvested goodies?!!!

I got a grocery bag full of them, so I immediately washed them with cold water, then I set aside enough to cook for one week to set them aside in the fridge. Since I could not consume all of them and I was pretty sure I would get sick of them after a week, I set aside several to pre-cut and blanch for 3 minutes, pack in storage bags and froze them.

Once way I cook asparagus is like adobong kangkong. I did that last year when I first had my MIL's asparagus giveaway. I have not had kangkong here, but asparagus makes a good substitute for purposes of adobo.

The very first recipe I made out of them this time is stir frying them with shrimp paste. My kids loved them! Though I cooked only about 3 cups of them when sliced as in the photo (probably a bundle if bought in the grocery store), we managed to finish the whole batch! Don't bother to ask how my hubby liked it, though, as he is not a big fan of asparagus. I never saw him eat them.

Ingredients:
asparagus
1 carrot, sliced in disks
2 oz salt pork sliced thinly (optional; I use them for the flavor and the oil derived from the fat; if you do not like to use pork, you may just use 1 tbsp olive oil for greasing the pan. Wok works best (They are cheap at Asian Food Grocer.)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and sliced thinly
pepper
2 tbsp of shrimp paste (to taste)

Procedure:
If using pork pieces, separate the fat and use it to render oil. If you don't use pork, you may use any oil of preference (e.g., olive oil or peanut oil)

Once fat is rendered, remove excess oil and leave about 1 tbsp.

Sautee garlic. Add the rest of the meat if using, and let it cook for about 2 minutes or until browned.

Add the veggies. Season with pepper and add 2 tbsp (to taste) of shrimp paste. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. You may add 1/4 cup water if you prefer (I like stir-fried veggies better if there is no added water.)

Serve with hot plain rice and enjoy!

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