Chicken Wrapped Asparagus

Posted on Aug 2 by Amy Chen
Posted in Home Cooked

For vegetable lovers, summer is the best time to get your hands on an array of different veggies out on the market. One of my personal favorites is asparagus. These tender green spears are a member of the lily family. They grow from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soils. Each crown will send spears up for about 6-7 weeks during the spring and early summer. Asparagus is a nutrient-rich vegetable that is high in folic acid, and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamins B6, A and C, and thiamin. If you are worried about fat and cholesterol, these green spears contain none of that so it’s a great food for weight control. Asparagus is also low in sodium.

In this recipe I combined lean meat with tender asparagus and drizzled it with garlic and lemon butter sauce to bring you a light and savory summer dish that will go well with pasta, rice, couscous, quinoa or other grains. You can even make this on the grill if you want to have a smokier flavor. You will need a non-stick skillet and a small saucepan for this recipe.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Level: easy
Yield: 2 servings

Directions

1. Cut chicken breasts in half and slice each chicken strip vertically into 2 pieces (photos B and C). Tenderize each piece with a meat tenderizer or the back of a knife blade until the pieces are thin (D).

2. Trim the ends of asparagus by breaking them off by hand. Wash and dry the asparagus.

3. Place a tenderized chicken piece on a flat surface and wrap 2 asparagus spears with the chicken (E). Wrap all the asparagus in this fashion until finished. You should be able to make 8 wraps. Sprinkle the wraps with a little salt and pepper (F).

Ingredients

All the ingredients can be found in neighborhood wet markets, Carrefour, Lotus Market, City Shop or many of the other large supermarkets in Shanghai.

2 chicken breasts (2块鸡胸)
16 asparagus spears (16 支芦笋)
2 garlic cloves (2瓣蒜)
1 lemon (1个柠檬)
4 tablespoon / 56 g butter (56g黄油)
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra virgin
olive oil (30g橄榄油)
1 ½ tablespoons capers (1½大勺续随子)
salt & pepper to taste (适量盐和黑胡椒)

4. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken wrapped asparagus in a single layer in the skillet (G). Pan-fry the wraps on each side for approximately 5-7 minutes each side until the chicken is golden brown.

5. Mince the garlic. Add butter, garlic, juice from 1 lemon and capers in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together until the butter melts.

6. Arrange 4 chicken wrapped asparagus on a plate along with pasta, rice or other grains. Spoon out 2 tablespoons of garlic and lemon butter sauce over the wraps and pasta (H), rice or grains.

7. Serve the dish with a glass of white wine or sparkling water with lemon and enjoy!

As always, I would love to hear from my readers. Please feel free to leave a comment or rate the dish. Happy cooking! ✖

(Original recipe by Amy Chen.)