Fragrant chicken wok with Thai asparagus, coconut and lime

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 300 g chicken breast fillet(s) (or turkey or pork fillet)
• 250 ml coconut milk or coconut cream
• 250 g asparagus, Thai asparagus or European green asparagus
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 1 lime(s)
• 1 chili pepper(s), hot (or a pinch of chili paste)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 dashes fish sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (use palm sugar to taste)
• 2 tsp oil (soybean oil)

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes

Cut the chicken breast (or other meat) into bite-sized, not too small pieces. Wash the Thai asparagus, halving if necessary. Trim regular green asparagus and cut diagonally into approximately 3 cm long pieces. Cut thick asparagus in half lengthwise, otherwise it won’t cook. Trim, deseed, and finely chop the chili pepper. Use only the bottom third of the lemongrass; peel off the outer skin and chop the rest very finely. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash the lime thoroughly, remove any fine zest with a zester, or grate it, and chop finely. Grind the finely chopped chili or chili paste with the finely chopped lemongrass, garlic, and finely grated lime zest with a dash of fish sauce, ½ tbsp brown sugar, and 2-3 tbsp coconut milk in a mortar and pestle until a paste forms, or puree in a food processor until not too fine. Squeeze the lime juice and set the juice aside. Mix the meat with the marinade and let it stand for at least 2 hours. Add the soybean oil to the hot wok, add the meat, and fry for about 1 minute. Add the asparagus and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, bring to a boil, and season with the lime juice and the remaining brown sugar. If you need more salt, add a dash of fish sauce or a dash of soy sauce. Done. Serve with jasmine rice.