What a flavor combination — bacon-wrapped teriyaki asparagus. Well worth the time and trouble. Totally decadent, and really too rich for a side dish where one might be tempted to grab a tong full. These little jewels are meant to be picked up and savored individually.
Ingredients:
- Thinly sliced bacon (if all you have is thickly sliced bacon, cook it partially on its own first, before wrapping the asparagus. Trying to get thick bacon and thin asparagus both done optimally won’t work if you cook both from scratch together)
- Fresh asparagus (woody part on bottom — usually the last inch or so — trimmed off)
SAUCE
- Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
- EZ-Sweetz liquid sweeter (I used about 6 drops to 1 jar of teriyaki sauce) (or sugar or Splenda)
- Ginger (I used fresh, but in a pinch you could use powdered)
- 1 tsp. rice vinegar (optional)
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
As an alternative sauce, find a bottle of Korean BBQ sauce. They sell some in the refrigerator section at Whole Foods that is really good. I then add some chili garlic paste to kick it up a bit more. Now that I’ve been making it this way, I like it even better than my original way of making it.
On this trip, I made plenty!
A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, feasting in a bacon wonderland. Sing it, children! (Note the naked asparagi for those who didn’t want the bacon. If they had been true vegetarians or vegans, I promise I would have used a separate pan.)
Directions:
Make your marinade. Put the teriyaki suace into a mixing bowl. Add the EZ-Sweetz or other sweetener. Remove the peel from the fresh ginger by scraping it with a spoon.
Peel off just enough skin from the ginger to allow you to grate it. Grate about 1/2 teaspoon or so and add to the teriyaki marinade, along with a little rice vinegar.
Put your bacon in to marinate for at least 15 minutes. I’ve left it in over 24 hours and it’s just great. Do it to fit your time constraints, whatever they might be. Oops! I almost forgot the garlic powder!
When you are ready to cook these, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap a piece of bacon around each spear of asparagus. You will be amazed how easily they cling to it and stay on. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes. I turned on the convection part of my oven and still kept them in there for nearly 30 minutes, so just watch them and wait until they turn the perfect shade of bacon doneness. You know what I mean. Betcha can’t eat just one!
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