If you like a really strong garlic flavor, reserve half of the garlic and stir it in at the end of the cooking, along with the optional sesame oil. Serve with rice. Other cuts of meat you can use here: beef, preferably sirloin; lamb, preferably from the shoulder or leg; boneless chicken; shrimp (which will cook more quickly).

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

　　3 or 4 small dried red chiles, optional

　　1 pound boneless pork, preferably shoulder or tenderloin, thinly sliced or cut into 1/2-inch chunks

　　2 cups trimmed pencil-thin asparagus, cut into 1-inch-long pieces

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

　　1/2 cup sliced scallion

　　1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 160), or water

　　1 tablespoon soy sauce

　　2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, optional

　　

Step 1

Have all the ingredients ready, including cooked white rice if you’re planning to serve it. Preheat a large skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes. Immediately add half the peanut oil, the chiles if you’re using them, and the pork, spreading it in one even layer. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until the pork browns, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a bowl (discard the chiles) and lower the heat slightly.

　　

Step 2

Add the remaining oil and the asparagus to the skillet. Again, cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus turns bright green and begins to become tender, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion and cook, stirring once or twice, for 30 seconds.

　　

Step 3

Add the stock and soy sauce, stir, and cook for 15 seconds. Add the sesame oil if you like and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.