My favorite way to cook asparagus is easy, efficient, and delicious.
You simply steam the asparagus, along with your rice, in a single pot as soon as the rice is finished cooking.
Five minutes of steaming will yield tender-crisp asparagus stalks with just the right amount of crunch.
Another plus – you don’t dirty another pot to make these veggies.
Some asparagus varieties have thick stalks and some have thin. Thicker stalks can take a minute or two longer to cook than thin ones.
It may take some experimenting on your part, but once you start to cook asparagus this way, you’ll never want to go back to your old routine.
Tips for Prep:
Wash and trim the asparagus spears before the rice has finished cooking, so that you can put it in the steaming rice pot as soon as you turn off the heat.
Asparagus stems are “woody,” so they need to be trimmed before cooking.
Just hold the spear in one hand and bend the spear about an inch or two from the bottom. The spear will break where the stalk becomes tender.
Discard the woody end.
Alternatively, you can peel away the tough part of the stalk with a vegetable peeler.
Need ideas for preparing other easy vegetables?
These sugar snap peas will be a big hit at your next family dinner.
Steamed Asparagus
Ingredients
- 8-12 asparagus spears
- ⅛ tsp salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil may add butter pat if desired
Instructions
- Cook rice in a saucepan according to package directions.
- While rice is cooking, wash and trim asparagus spears.
- Be sure to remove tough, woody base of spears by snapping this part off, or peeling with a vegetable peeler.
- When rice is removed from heat, put prepared asparagus spears on top of cooked rice in pan.
- Immediately replace pot cover. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, a bit of butter, and/or olive oil as desired.
- Serve immediately.