Vegan And Gluten Free Asparagus And Shiitake Mushroom Stir Fry

A simple stir fry with fresh asparagus and shiitake mushrooms.

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Asparagus
Doug and I love asparagus whether it's raw, roasted or in a simple stir fry. This week they appeared in all of our favorite grocery stores. We've already made them twice in the past few days and have more in the refrigerator!


These lovely green spears are packed with vitamins and minerals as well as protein and dietary fiber - perfect for a low calorie, high fiber diet!

A cup of asparagus has only 27 calories 
and is a very good source of:
 protein, dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, E, K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6, Folate, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

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Asparagus and Shiitake Mushroom Stir Fry
Vegan, Gluten Free 
[makes 4 servings]

1 pound of fresh asparagus
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup room temperature water
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 medium onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, large ones cut in half
2 cups cooked brown rice or 8 ounces cooked noodles (optional) 

Bend the bottoms of the asparagus spears until they snap off. Rinse well or soak in cold water. Drain and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.

Stir cornstarch into the water until it is completely dissolved. Mix in the lemon juice and soy sauce. Set aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick wok or large frying pan. Cook onion for a minute stirring until separated.
Add garlic, ginger and black pepper and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add shiitake mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften, about 3 minutes.

Stir in asparagus and cook until they are fork tender. 

Stir the cornstarch mixture again since some of it may have settled to the bottom. Pour into the hot wok and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the vegetables.

Serve as a side dish or over cooked brown rice.

If you are serving with either buckwheat or gluten free rice noodles, you may stir cooked and rinsed noodles into the wok when the sauce begins to thicken.  

Per serving (without rice or noodles): 93 calories, 3 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg omega-3 and 1,461 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber and 240 mg sodium.