This Sauteed Asparagus Recipe with Chickpea Miso Butter Sauce is umami magic at its BEST! Caramelized brown butter miso sauce with perfectly tender and crisp asparagus…5 ingredients, out of the world delicious. So good that your friends will think it’s a special delivery from Momofuku!
Healthy Sauteed Asparagus With Chickpea Miso Butter Sauce Recipe
Before you think this is a fancy asparagus recipe, let me tell you it’s not! Cooking with miso paste, in this case with chickpea made miso paste (product link in the recipe), is super common in Asian and Japanese cooking. There are loads of sauteed and roasted asparagus recipes on the internet so if you are wondering what else is out there with new exciting ideas and flavors to enjoy asparagus, this is it! 😀
The two – asparagus and miso – are match made in heaven! You can use regular organic miso paste or chickpea made miso if you are sensitive to soy. I’ll show you where to find it and how to use it.
WHAT IS CHICKPEA MISO, TASTE, AND WHERE TO FIND
Chickpea miso is made from brown rice and chickpeas and is typically aged for 1 to 3 months. The flavor tastes stronger than white miso yet lighter than red miso. It’s perfect for people who can’t have soy.
I use a store bought brand called Miso Master (product link in the recipe card below). It tastes very similar to traditional miso and you’ll not notice the difference. Chickpea miso is a great substitute for people who have soy allergy.
A jar of miso lasts a long time in the fridge. You can use it to make miso soup, as a dipping sauce, as a glaze to roast salmon, cod, or even chicken.
You can find chickpea miso at WholeFoods, Amazon, or many health grocery stores.
CAN I USE REGULAR MISO FOR THIS RECIPE?
Yes, you can! You can definitely make the pan fried asparagus recipe with regular miso. Ideally, organic white miso will work better than red miso.
WHAT IS MISO BUTTER? WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?
This genius flavor combination came from David Chang of Momofuku. Basically you combine the butter with miso paste in a 2:1 ratio to create a buttery-savory-salty-sweet umami flavor bomb. Once you taste it, you will want to use it on everything!
I simply use a fork to mash the softened ghee butter with chickpea miso paste in a bowl. You can take a big spoonful of this magic deliciousness over roasted vegetables, pan seared steak, roasted chicken, seafood, or even roasted potatoes. It goes well with both Asian and Western-flavored dishes. Super versatile.
HOW TO MAKE SAUTEED ASPARAGUS WITH MISO BUTTER
- Trim off the tough bottoms of the asparagus, about 1 to 2 inches.
- Hot water blanches the asparagus until bright green for about 3 minutes.
- Shock them in cold water to stop cooking and set aside to drain well.
- Combine the ghee butter with (chickpea) miso paste.
- Saute the miso butter with minced garlic.
- Add the asparagus and toss to coat the sauce. Transfer the asparagus to a serving plate.
- Deglaze the saute pan with stock to make a sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the asparagus.
WHAT GOES WELL WITH MISO BUTTER ASPARAGUS?
Sauteed asparagus is a wonderful side dish and miso butter is super versatile. The flavor goes well with both Asian and Western-influenced dishes. Here are some of my favorite suggestions:
- Sauteed Swiss Chard with Chickpea Miso Butter Walnut Sauce
- Potato gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce
- Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi with sage butter sauce
- Roasted cauliflower with lemon tahini cream sauce
- Halibut lemon piccata sauce
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Taiwanese fried chicken cutlets
- Browse more Paleo Side Dishes
Friends! If you are looking for an easy way to add new flavor to asparagus, give my pan sauteed asparagus in brown butter chickpea miso sauce a try! With 5 ingredients only, and you can use either chickpea miso or regular miso, this is the asparagus recipe that you don’t want to miss this spring!