Asparagus Salad, Japanese-Style

By Mark Bittman

Asparagus Salad, Japanese-Style
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(264)
Comments
Read comments

Here, ribbons of raw asparagus are simply dressed with a nutty vinaigrette of toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil and rice vinegar.

Featured in: Down to the Last (Raw) Bite of Asparagus

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings
  • 1½ to 2pounds asparagus, not too skinny
  • 1tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2teaspoons rice vinegar, or to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

65 calories; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 477 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut off the woodsy bottoms of the asparagus spears; discard. Cut off the flower ends and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark green outer skin of each spear; you should get three or four ribbons from each one. Set aside. Cut the remaining stalks crosswise into ¼-inch rounds. Combine ribbons, sliced rounds and tips in a bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-heat, shaking occasionally until they color and begin to pop, but remove from heat before they burn. Combine the seeds with sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Taste and adjust as necessary. Spoon over the asparagus and toss gently.

Ratings

4 out of 5
264 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Anne

Helpful hint: before chopping off the flower bud tips, use them to hold the stalk while you do the peeling. Nice to have something to hold onto. If they break off, oh well, you are going to do that anyway. double the dressing. I added a few red pepper flakes for zing.

Barbara

Great combination of textures, and particularly good if you can find thick spears rather than the tougher pencil-thin ones. Grate an orange or lemon over the top. Increase sesame seeds to 1 1/2 Tbsp, and make it a mix of black and white seeds. I added gomasio, but togarashi might be best with its peppery flavor.

Elsie

Used thin spears because they were freshest. Instead of peeling/slicing, I shocked the whole spears, let air dry, chilled, then tossed with sauce. Made double recipe of sauce and added some extra toasted sesame seeds. Delicious, pretty, and big hit with friends.

Vickie

I really liked the method of preparing the asparagus. It was very pretty. The dressing was bland. I used 2 bunches of asparagus. I increased the toasted sesame seeds to 2 Tb and the sesame oil to 1 Tb. I added 1 tsp of Bragg's Amino Acids, 1 tsp of maple syrup and 1/2 tsp of chili paste. For my palate this tasted good. I used Anne's tip of not cutting off the tips and using them to hold the stalk while peeling. This works well. Thank you so much for the inspiration, Mark!

Judith Wish

This was not good. Made on May 21, 2023. Don’t make again.

Okay

Very bland. Red pepper flakes kind of helped, needed something.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.