Sauteed Asparagus with Miso Butter
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!
Using frozen asparagus? You will love my frozen asparagus in air fryer recipe. They are buttery delicious!
Sauteed Asparagus Recipe with Brown Butter (Chickpea) Miso Sauce
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. I include a product link below.
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
- Miso sweet potato
- Sauteed mushrooms with cauliflower crumbles
- 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
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!
Sauteed Asparagus in Chickpea Miso Butter (gluten-free, soy-free)
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus
- 1-2 pinch coarse sea salt, to salt the water
- 2 tbsp ghee butter, softened in room temperature, or regular unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp chickpea miso, or regular white miso paste
- 0.4 oz minced garlic, about 1-2 large cloves
- 1 to 2 splash chicken stock, or vegetable stock, or white wine, or cooking sake (to deglaze)
Instructions
For the asparagus:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season with a few pinch of salt.
- Trim off the tough bottoms of the asparagus, about 1 to 2 inches. Hot water blanches them until bright green, about 2- 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Shock them in cold water to stop cooking. Pat dry and set aside.
For the saute:
- In a bowl, use a fork to mash and combine the ghee butter with chickpea miso paste.
- Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat until it feels warm when you place your palm near the surface, about 2-3 inches away.
- Add the miso butter mixture. Saute over medium heat with a wooden spoon to melt the butter and lightly char the miso. Some miso might stick to the pan and that’s totally okay. We will deglaze the pan later.
- Add the garlic. Saute for 5-10 seconds.
- Add the asparagus and toss to coat the sauce over, about 15-20 seconds. Transfer the asparagus to a large serving plate.
- Deglaze the saute pan with stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape off the brown bits. Keep stirring until the water evaporates further and turns into a sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the asparagus. Serve hot or at room temperature.
That miso butter really makes it next level! I love such easy but flavorful sides like this!
OK, that butter tastes INSANE. Now I want to put it on everything.
This is so delicious with a big dish of steamed sticky white rice and pan-seared chicken, thank you! LOVE this spring comfort food!
I eat so much asparagus on a regular basis. Definitely trying this recipe, it’s got all my favourite ingredients.
So delicious! And that miso butter! Decadent !
Love the flavor of miso in this! Goes so well with asparagus.