Join Martha Stewart as she showcases her favorite asparagus recipes, just in time for spring. From a silky asparagus soup to a vibrant salad and even fresh asparagus sushi, Martha transforms this seasonal vegetable into elegant, flavorful dishes. Perfect for entertaining or healthy weeknight dinners, these recipes highlight the versatility and freshness of asparagus in every bite.
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00:00Asparagus is always a pleasure to serve, because the presentation is so elegant, while the preparation is so simple.
00:08I cook asparagus three different ways.
00:11I steam it upright, I steam it lying flat, and I roast it in a hot oven.
00:16All three ways work very, very well, and I'll show you how I do it.
00:21When you're choosing asparagus in the store, always look for a very green stalk, a closed tip.
00:29You know, asparagus are part of the lily family, and when you look at that, you can really sort of see a lily bud right at the tip.
00:36But always make sure that the tip is unblemished and very tight, and that these little points are tightly attached to the stem.
00:46If they have deep ridges in the stalk, you know that they've been out of water and cut a long time ago.
00:53Also, look at the bottom of the asparagus. See if it's green or dried out.
00:58This is a nice, smooth bottom.
01:00And cut off a little bit of the bottom, and you can see it's all juicy and nice and smooth.
01:08This is a medium-type asparagus, and this is a gigantic, thick asparagus.
01:15I like this kind of asparagus.
01:17I like to make a meal of it, but a lot of people also like the very thin pencil asparagus, which are very popular, but you should choose them the same way that you choose the larger varieties.
01:29Always make sure that tip is dry and closed.
01:33If it starts to open, you know you have an old asparagus.
01:36When you bring the asparagus home from the supermarket or out of the garden, immediately immerse the cut ends into a bowl of water.
01:46This keeps the asparagus fresh, and if they are a little tiny bit dry, they will sort of revitalize.
01:53To prepare asparagus for cooking, always rinse your asparagus before you cook them.
01:58I like to line them up in a row like this and cut them all to the same length.
02:03A lot of people say that you can just snap them, and where you snap them is where they're tender.
02:09But I find that that's an awful lot of waste.
02:12So I'd rather have a little bit of a tough end left on my cooked asparagus than maybe waste a lot of good tender stalk.
02:19So what I do is just trim it with a knife.
02:23Now these are the jumbos.
02:25They look so beautiful.
02:26And I'm going to roast these.
02:29So I'm just going to cut the end off.
02:32Not too much, because these are only 48 hours old.
02:36They were shipped from California, and they are so fresh.
02:40They're almost as good as home-picked.
02:42Now, line the asparagus up in one direction on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
02:49And have the oven preheated to 500 degrees.
02:54And test them after about 10 minutes.
02:57They should take between 10 and 12 minutes to roast perfectly.
03:01It's a very nice way to cook the asparagus, and very different from what we're used to.
03:07This is what the roasted asparagus looks like.
03:10The ends get kind of frizzled.
03:13The stalks are tender.
03:16Just arrange them on your serving plate.
03:19This is kind of a new way to cook asparagus.
03:25And a lot of people really enjoy the taste.
03:30It's different than the steamed asparagus.
03:32It has sort of a nutty flavor.
03:34And I like to just drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar over the asparagus and sprinkle with a little bit of freshly ground black pepper.
03:47The second way to cook asparagus is in a frying pan or a skillet with boiling water.
03:54You can put a rack in the bottom, like this, and place the asparagus right on top of the rack.
04:02That would be steaming, but you should cover it then.
04:04Or, as I do it, I just put these right in the pan, full of boiling water, and they come out bright green, tender, and ready to eat.
04:14To test the asparagus for doneness, take a spear out, hold it in a towel, because it's very hot, and go like that.
04:23If it wiggles, it's done.
04:26These are all done.
04:29Another easy way to cook asparagus is in an asparagus steamer.
04:32Again, make the asparagus all the same length, and you stand them up like that.
04:38And I found this old-fashioned asparagus steamer at a tag sale.
04:42I like it very much, and you put about two inches of water in the bottom.
04:45It's like a double boiler, but notice that the steamer top has little perforations in it, allowing the steam to get into the asparagus.
04:54It's a lovely way to cook them, and they just stand right up in the pot.
04:59Cover them, and boil them.
05:04Check them after about, oh, five minutes.
05:07They should be done really quickly.
05:11The asparagus in this upright steamer look pretty perfect.
05:16Yes, they're nice and wavy.
05:22Take them out.
05:23And I have this old, beautiful Majolica asparagus serving plate.
05:28It was made in the early part of this century, and I'm going to serve my asparagus right on it.
05:35Just pour them out.
05:38If you're going to serve asparagus cold, now is the time to immerse them into iced water.
05:44But if you want to serve them hot, now is the time to put them on the table.
05:48These look so good like this.
05:51With a sprinkling of lemon and salt and freshly ground pepper, or a little bit of hollandaise or mayonnaise or vinaigrette, your guests will certainly enjoy this.
06:00But you don't have to wait for a special occasion.
06:02You can enjoy these anytime.
06:03Today, my mom is going to help me make a chilled asparagus soup.
06:08It's her favorite.
06:09You're going to blanch the asparagus tips.
06:11Boiling water for a couple minutes.
06:13Add a little salt to that.
06:15And I'll just use these stems in the body of the soup because they are not to be thrown away.
06:21And the tips are just as a garnish.
06:23And I'm cutting up three big bunches of pencil asparagus for this soup.
06:28It's a very fresh-tasting soup and really pretty.
06:32And you cut the asparagus, all the bunches, into about one-and-a-half or one-and-a-quarter-inch pieces for the cooking.
06:40There.
06:41It's a nice green soup, doesn't it?
06:42Yeah.
06:43So beautiful and tasty.
06:45And with a ham and with hard-boiled eggs and kielbasa and horseradish, you need something that's a little bit mild, I think.
06:55Regular spring menu.
06:56Right.
06:57Very, very pretty.
06:58So now right into the iced water, Mom.
07:00So it stops the cooking.
07:01Mm-hmm.
07:02Really pretty.
07:04So here, I'm just going to move the pot over there so I can start cooking the onions.
07:12Good.
07:15And for the body of the soup, we're going to use two tablespoons of olive oil.
07:19And we have two medium onions.
07:23And we're going to saute the onions until they are tender.
07:29And then we're going to add to the onions here, Mom.
07:32You just cooked yours.
07:33We're going to add to the onions the asparagus and the chicken stock.
07:38Oh, we need salt.
07:39Lots of salt because the asparagus just seemed to eat up salt.
07:42Bland vegetables.
07:43Yeah, so like four teaspoons of coarse salt.
07:46Oh.
07:48And about a half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
07:52Oh, yeah.
07:52Get the pepper.
07:53Okay, there.
07:55So that looks good.
07:57And we're going to add six cups of homemade chicken stock.
08:01Now, when I was growing up, Mom, you always made delicious chicken stock.
08:06Because we always had chicken soup.
08:07Right.
08:08But you always had great, clear stock.
08:10And we had soup quite often, didn't we?
08:12Yes.
08:13We liked soup and it was a good staple.
08:15So this is almost to a boil.
08:17Yep.
08:17So here, I'm going to add them right now because I think it is time.
08:22Wow, that's a lot.
08:23It's a simple soup, actually.
08:25Oh, it's so simple.
08:26Okay, so let that come to a boil and then we'll cover it.
08:31Okay, so for two to three minutes.
08:34Okay, so here we're ready to put these in the blender and make the wonderful puree of asparagus soup.
08:45So here we go.
08:48So now don't put too much in the blender.
08:50No, because you don't want to explode all over the place.
08:55And it's hot, too, so you just need to be careful.
08:57And these ladles, I love.
09:04Do you have any of these ladles at home?
09:06The Chinese soup ladles?
09:08Oh, they're great.
09:09So let's just do it as.
09:15Isn't that a great color?
09:17It is just what you want.
09:20If this were cooked any longer, it just would get to be that gray color that is not beautiful for a soup.
09:28Okay.
09:30And just do batch after batch.
09:32You can just fix that through.
09:34Very careful not to get any of the asparagus pieces into the soup itself.
09:41You know, you don't even have to strain this.
09:44Oh, yes, you do.
09:45You really want it to be smooth.
09:47Oh, yes.
09:47I think that's what the beautiful part of it is.
09:56For this.
09:57For this.
10:01And we're going to add this.
10:03We have lots already made in our beautiful ironstone tureen.
10:09Tureen.
10:09Tureen.
10:10So this soup is either hot or cold or at room temperature.
10:15And it's served in a large, shallow soup bowl.
10:20Here's one for you, Mom.
10:21A couple beautiful asparagus.
10:23We don't add these to the tureen because they only sink to the bottom.
10:30Oh, yeah.
10:30And you wouldn't find them.
10:33So I'll just give you a little bit right for now.
10:36And a garnish of creme fraiche or sour cream.
10:39Mm-hmm.
10:42Want a little bit?
10:43Oh, a little bit.
10:45What would...
10:46That's fine.
10:47...asparagus soup be without the sour cream?
10:49Mm-hmm.
10:52Mm-hmm.
10:53The perfect asparagus soup with a very beautiful color.
10:58And it is great for warm weather entertaining.
11:00Thank you very much for helping, Mom.
11:01Oh, my pleasure.
11:02What to have for dinner can always be a challenge.
11:06But if you look around you, look at the market and see what's really beautiful,
11:10you can make the most delicious meal in a very short period of time.
11:14There are certain vegetables that just announce the beginning of a season.
11:18And for spring, it's asparagus.
11:21Mr. Spear, he's actually a friend of mine out in Stockton, California,
11:26sent these amazing asparagus.
11:29They are so large and so plump and so tender all at the same time.
11:34You just want to have these for supper.
11:36So just plan on serving three or four per person.
11:40To make these perfectly, take a vegetable peeler and peel a little bit of the skin.
11:50Now rinse these under cold water.
11:53In the meantime, for roasting asparagus, and that's how we're going to prepare these,
11:56have your baking sheet, like a regular cookie sheet, already preheated in a 350-degree oven.
12:05So onto the hot cookie sheet.
12:08You can hear them already starting to cook.
12:13Just a sprinkling of salt.
12:15And a little bit of pepper.
12:20And then a little bit of very good olive oil, just drizzled.
12:26These are going to be served with a very delicious lemony vinaigrette.
12:30And now right back into the hot oven.
12:34Now asparagus this size are going to take about 20 to 25 minutes.
12:37And now to start the rice.
12:41This is a rice pilaf.
12:43And it is very, very easy.
12:45In a medium saucepan, add one tablespoon of olive oil.
12:52And you should have ready some red pepper.
12:55One bell pepper would do.
12:56One red one.
12:58And one half of a large white onion, chopped.
13:01And one and a half teaspoons of yellow mustard seed.
13:06This is the unusual ingredient in the pilaf.
13:17I always like to get the onions started cooking before I add the other vegetables.
13:23And now I'm adding the pepper.
13:24So you cook this for about three to four minutes.
13:34Our vegetables are sweated.
13:37Do they smell good?
13:39Now add the rice.
13:41Two cups.
13:45Add one teaspoon of salt.
13:49And three cups.
13:54A homemade chicken broth.
13:56Bring this to a boil.
14:01And then we're going to cover it.
14:02And put it into the same oven.
14:04The 350 degree oven.
14:06To cook until the liquid is absorbed.
14:07And the grains are perfectly al dente.
14:10Just firm to the teeth.
14:12But cooked through.
14:13And now we can start our poaching liquid for the chicken.
14:16Okay.
14:17We have our bouquet garni.
14:18A square of cheesecloth.
14:21With a tarragon.
14:22Peppercorns.
14:23Thyme.
14:23And a couple bay leaves.
14:25And tie this up with a piece of cord.
14:28Use a dry sherry for this.
14:30Not a sweet sherry.
14:32We need one cup.
14:34And we need five cups of water.
14:37And one stalk of celery.
14:39You can break this into the water if you like.
14:42And one half of a white onion.
14:44Coarsely chopped.
14:46Now bring this to a boil.
14:48And it will be ready for the chicken.
14:50And now to start the vinaigrette.
14:51And all these things are just about to come to a boil.
14:53I want to squeeze juice of half a lemon.
14:58I like to mix lemon and vinegar in my lemon vinaigrette.
15:02And now add about a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
15:09That's good.
15:10And Dijon mustard.
15:12We're going to use two tablespoons.
15:14And this can be stirred up with a little whisk.
15:21I always like to whisk my vinaigrettes or shake them in a jar.
15:27Now add a little tiny pinch of sugar.
15:29That will counteract the sourness of the lemon juice.
15:33Once our rice is coming to a boil.
15:35Put this right into the oven.
15:38And that's going to take 17 minutes.
15:42And we're going to use approximately a half a cup of the best olive oil.
15:48And this should be a little fine string.
15:55And you see it's not separating.
15:56It has a very lovely consistency.
15:58It's exactly the way you would like your vinaigrette to be.
16:02I'm going to add a little bit of salt.
16:04And a little bit of pepper.
16:08And now I'm going to chop up my tarragon.
16:10You only want the leaves of the tarragon.
16:13So if there are any heavy stems, pinch them out.
16:19Our poaching liquor is just about to boil.
16:21Now I put a lot of tarragon in.
16:26And I can't believe I have nothing to do for probably about 12 minutes.
16:31Once I get the chicken in.
16:33I'm going to add it now.
16:35They're skinless.
16:36They're boneless.
16:37So we're having four, one per person.
16:41Reduce that so that it is gently simmering.
16:4610 to 12 minutes.
16:48Well, with a few extra minutes that I do have, I'm going to make berry parfaits.
16:52I have some beautiful blackberries.
16:54It looked really great in the market.
16:56So I'll start with those.
16:58And now some raspberries.
17:05I like to just sprinkle it with a tiny bit of sugar.
17:11And if it's just adults, a little bit of Cointreau.
17:17Or Grand Marnier.
17:18Or some other orange flavored liqueur.
17:23And serve these with homemade cookies.
17:26You could stick one in the glass.
17:27Or just put a couple on each of the dessert plates.
17:31So that too only took a minute or two to make.
17:35If you want a little bit of mint.
17:39Now let's check everything.
17:41Our chicken is done.
17:44And let's check the rice.
17:48Hopefully the rice will have puffed and absorbed all the liquid.
17:53And our asparagus.
17:55Okay, so now we can assemble our plates.
17:59And now I'm just going to drain my chicken on this platter here.
18:08Now we're going to give four beautiful asparagus.
18:15Asparagus and one beautiful chicken breast.
18:22Drizzle a little bit of the vinaigrette over the chicken and the stems of the asparagus.
18:30This and our berries.
18:33And you have a dinner that's fit to eat.
18:37It's good to have for dinner.
18:38You know, in the spring and early summer, asparagus is rather expensive in the grocery stores.
18:44But if you learn how to plant and grow your own, you can have crops of asparagus, enough for your whole family, for about 16 to 20 years from one planting.
18:55This is how I like to plant asparagus.
18:57The magazine shows a slightly different way.
18:59But don't worry, they're both just fine.
19:00Make sure that the soil is of an average pH.
19:04That means between 6.5 and 6.8.
19:08But you can balance your soil by the addition of lime.
19:11That makes the soil sweeter.
19:13And you can also add a little bit of ash from your fireplace.
19:17That's very, very good to sweeten the soil.
19:20Asparagus likes to be planted deeply.
19:22The reason is that you don't want to disturb those new shoots by weeding or cultivating.
19:28And this also permits the crowns to get to a bigger size.
19:32So I've dug this trench about 18 inches deep and approximately 18 inches wide.
19:39And then in the bottom of the trench, you add 5 inches or 6 inches of a very rich organic matter.
19:47This is compost from my compost pile mixed with well-rotted cow manure.
19:52This is going to give those asparagus roots that you plant a very, very good home.
20:00So in the whole trench, 5 to 6 inches.
20:07And then you start to plant your roots.
20:13Asparagus roots can be bought mail order or they can be bought at your garden center.
20:18They come like this.
20:20I've had these soaking overnight so that the roots don't dry out.
20:24These are called crowns.
20:26Some people call them spiders.
20:28This is a very, very well-grown, generously-sized asparagus crown.
20:35You can see this is where the asparagus will start to send up their shoots.
20:39And these deep roots will go down through that rich compost, growing bigger and bigger and bigger until at 5 years of age, this amazing thing.
20:50This is a crown, looks like a king's crown, of asparagus that's 5 years old.
20:57Mr. Spear from Stockton, California, sent me this crown and he said it was very rare.
21:02Well, indeed, it is a 5-year-old crown, what you hope your crowns will look like in 5 years in a well-planted bed.
21:11So this I'm going to plant to see if I get asparagus from this this year.
21:15Notice that the spears that are emerging from the top of the crown are white.
21:19That's because these are under the ground.
21:21When they hit the sunlight is when they photosynthesize into those wonderful green asparagus.
21:27So I'm going to put this one in just as an experiment and see what I get this year.
21:31The one thing about growing asparagus is that you have to have a lot of patience.
21:37The roots that I plant this year will grow into ferns the first year, and then the second year will send up little thin shoots.
21:44You don't want to pick them the first year or the second year.
21:47You can sort of snip one or two the second year just to get a taste of those extra sweet, extra tender asparagus.
21:53But you want to leave them for two years before you start to harvest.
21:57That gives the roots a chance to really mature and get strong.
22:01And never, never cut down those green ferns until after they dry out in the fall.
22:07Late fall is best.
22:08And then once you plant like this, you lay this in the trench.
22:13And I'll do one real small root, the kind that you're going to get when you go to the garden center or mail order.
22:21And you plant these approximately, oh, 12 to 18 inches apart.
22:26If you plant them further apart, you're going to get bigger and more obvious roots like that.
22:31And the closer you plant them, the thinner the asparagus spears that you will harvest.
22:35Now cover these with two inches of topsoil mixed with some more of that good organic matter.
22:41This is the soil that we've dug out of the trench.
22:44Just two inches until you start to see the little fern-like asparagus growing.
22:52Then you gradually, as they grow, fill in the trench.
22:56By the end of the second year, this trench will be level with the top of the soil in the rest of your garden.
23:02When you're planting asparagus, make sure that you choose a spot that is sunny and undisturbed.
23:10You have to leave at least five feet between asparagus rows.
23:13And you don't want to crowd them and you don't want to disturb them.
23:16On top of this asparagus bed, I might plant nasturtiums or some shallow herbs like parsley.
23:24But I won't do anything that's going to send down deep roots to disturb those crowns.
23:29And I'll tell you, for about 16 to 20 years, you will be harvesting asparagus for your family and friends.
23:37And you will experience the best tasting vegetable.
23:40So sweet and so tender.
23:42Even the big fat spears will be able to be eaten all the way down their length.
23:47Start with the heaviest of the greens, which is the red radicchio.
23:51And arrange that in the bottom of the bowl.
23:56Put the prosciutto ham, which has been very thinly sliced, over the radicchio.
24:03Now remember how many people you're going to serve.
24:06This is going to be for about five people since we have five poached eggs.
24:10Now it's time to make a little dressing.
24:12I like to make sure that I have each layer flavored just slightly differently.
24:18So I make little amounts of different vinaigrettes.
24:22In a little bowl, I will add a balsamic vinegar, a nice aged balsamic vinegar.
24:28Just a little bit of the vinegar.
24:30A little bit of olive oil.
24:32And a pinch of salt, pinch of black pepper, and a touch of sugar.
24:41I like just a little bit of mustard.
24:44That's a Dijon mustard.
24:46And lightly sprinkle this around.
24:50In the summertime, you could add tomatoes.
24:52You could add roasted peppers in these wonderful salads.
24:56On top of this, some herb.
24:59I'm going to add here a little bit of fresh coriander or cilantro.
25:04Let's see how our mushrooms are doing.
25:06I just wanted to get them out of the cooking liquid and then reduce the cooking liquid because you can add that to the salad, too.
25:14I'm raising the heat a little bit.
25:16Now, here's the little baby greens, the mescaline salad that comes from the garden.
25:21This can be layered on top of the prosciutto.
25:24Make sure each leaf is perfect.
25:27You don't want any blemished leaves in a salad like this.
25:30And on top of this, we will put the asparagus.
25:36Now, you have no idea when looking at this bowl that there is a layered salad here.
25:41That's part of its charm and part of its intrigue.
25:44Now, since I'm planning this salad for five people, I'm putting five generous groupings of asparagus here.
25:53And now, I'm going to add a little bit of chervil on top of the asparagus.
25:58They look very pretty and they're very tasty in a salad like this.
26:02And on top of the asparagus, another little vinaigrette.
26:05And I think I'll do a little bit of rice wine vinegar.
26:08This is a Japanese rice wine vinegar, which is one of my favorites for salads.
26:14And here, I'm going to use a little canola oil.
26:19See a little salt, a little pepper.
26:23Just mix this up.
26:31Tastes wonderful.
26:32It's delicious on the asparagus, this rice wine.
26:35And remember, this salad is going to be served almost immediately because once you put vinegar on a salad, it starts to wilt.
26:44You want to get it right away.
26:46Now, here's the secret for our poached eggs.
26:48We're going to layer these on.
26:50Take a piece of bread, which is the natural sponge.
26:53And here's the time, too, to sort of clean up the egg, the poached egg, when it's on the bread.
27:01And now we have our morel.
27:03Very lovely.
27:04They have such flavor.
27:07And this smell is really great.
27:10And this is the trouble with these wonderful layered salads.
27:14You want to keep adding and adding a pretty leaf of flat-leaf parsley on top of each poached egg.
27:21And you have, in one plate, a layered springtime salad.
27:26Well, that was Gene Wilder.
27:28And since asparagus is now in season, we're going to show you how to make asparagus three different ways.
27:34And I want to thank Mr. Spear.
27:36There is a company called Mr. Spear out in California.
27:40And they sent us all these amazing asparagus.
27:44Look at that.
27:44Thanks, Mr. Spear.
27:45They're really gorgeous.
27:47Well, who does most of the cooking in your house, Gene?
27:49We share.
27:50Karen and I share.
27:51If it's something really simple, like a leg of lamb or a roast chicken or a steak,
27:57or the one she likes the best that I do is puleo vinaigre, vinegar chicken, but with balsamic vinegar.
28:05Otherwise, if it has to do with a recipe or anything complicated, she makes it.
28:09How many of you want to learn how to make puleo vinaigre?
28:12Wouldn't that be nice?
28:13Yeah, maybe you should come back and show us.
28:16Maybe you're lying, too.
28:19Well, I thought I would show you.
28:20Now, these are such gorgeous, really big, fat asparagus.
28:25And it looks like maybe they would be tough, but they're not.
28:28These are so fresh and freshly picked that you really don't have to waste very much of them.
28:34And to make them cook quickly and evenly, you can do this with this.
28:38This is a little vegetable peeler.
28:39I just take off a little bit.
28:42A little tough layer.
28:43Just not the whole thing.
28:44Just about, oh, five or six strips off the, you can do those if you'd like, help me out, of the stem.
28:53And then, now, some people swear by this, you snap the asparagus and you just leave it like that.
28:59That takes off the tough part.
29:02But I find that these are so tender that I don't like to waste any of the asparagus,
29:07so I tend to leave these a little bit longer, and I'll just cut off the ends.
29:11Why snap it?
29:12Well, snap it because it's the natural, it's where the asparagus starts to be tender.
29:17Oh, I see.
29:17This is the tougher part.
29:19And then these just go into salted boiling water and just leave them in there until,
29:25let me show you how I judge when they're done.
29:28I just take one out like this, and you see if they bend.
29:33They should really be bending from, like, the middle down.
29:36That one's not quite done, see?
29:38And you can also test it with the point of a knife like this.
29:41And this is just a little resistance, so I think a little bit more.
29:46You can throw your asparagus in.
29:48You want to snap it and see how it breaks?
29:51Yeah, see?
29:52But see, that's a big waste, so...
29:53That's why I don't do that.
29:56That's why I do not do that.
29:58You don't use this at all?
29:59Yeah, you can.
30:00I mean, that's why it's so...
30:01It's good.
30:02See, I thought it should break there.
30:03Uh-oh.
30:05I force it to break elsewhere.
30:08But let that boil rapidly, and it really does cook very, very quickly.
30:14Yep, this can go right in.
30:16Now, once they're done, and these should now be done,
30:20just take them out gently without marring them
30:23and put them right into a bowl of iced water.
30:26If you want to serve them hot, they should be served, like, immediately,
30:30just with a hollandaise sauce.
30:31Do you like that?
30:32Or if you want to serve them in a vinaigrette, like a mustardy vinaigrette,
30:36chill them in the iced water, drain them well,
30:40and this would be just beautiful dressed with the vinaigrette.
30:43You want a taste?
30:44Yeah.
30:44Try one.
30:45See what you think of Mr. Spear.
30:48Good.
30:49Isn't that great?
30:50Very, very tasty.
30:51Yeah, I can see.
30:52Oh, sure.
30:53You can have all these.
30:54And there's nothing on them.
30:55Now, for roasted asparagus, these are roasted.
30:59This is so easy, too.
31:00Just cut the asparagus into, oh, about three-inch lengths.
31:07And, again, don't take too much of the very end of the stem.
31:12These can be put on a tray and drizzled with, oh,
31:15approximately a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
31:19And put this right in a 400-degree oven with salt and pepper.
31:23And it's just 15 minutes, and you have these.
31:30Now, taste these, Gene.
31:31Let's see if you like those roasted asparagus.
31:35Mmm, yummy.
31:36Which do you like better?
31:37You like this one better?
31:38Better.
31:38He likes the roasted better.
31:39Okay.
31:40We'll remember that.
31:42And there, I'll turn that water off.
31:44But that's so easy, 15 minutes.
31:46And then the salad is so delicious.
31:48And this is shaved asparagus.
31:50And you can just cut the asparagus into, again, pieces.
31:55And you can use a different peeler.
31:58For the asparagus, use this black peeler right there.
32:00And then just shave this off like this.
32:04And this will be a salad.
32:06And it's so pretty.
32:08And throw those in.
32:10We have daikon, carrot, and asparagus.
32:12This is white daikon.
32:14You're going to use all that peelings in here.
32:17Oh, yeah.
32:17And the dressing is so good.
32:20It is olive oil, fresh orange juice, like two tablespoons of orange juice, about three tablespoons of oil, about extra virgin olive oil.
32:31Oh, always.
32:32I love good olive oil.
32:34I think it's just so great.
32:35Half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and white vinegar.
32:41This is a very tasty.
32:42The orange juice is just such a nice addition to a vinaigrette.
32:47And you toss.
32:49And you can make this as thick as you like.
32:51The olive oil is what makes the dressing thick and creamy.
32:58The orange juice does what?
33:00It's flavorful.
33:01Wait, what do you taste?
33:02So good.
33:05Just toss this.
33:08And you have to taste this for me and tell me what you think.
33:11Just taste a piece of asparagus.
33:14With the dressing on it.
33:16What do you think?
33:17Yummy.
33:17Good.
33:18He likes that one, too.
33:19Oh, good.
33:20Well, thank you.
33:21We're back at Tojo's Restaurant, where Chef Tojo continues to create mouth-watering innovations.
33:28Now, Tojo's going to show us a very local dish using local ingredients, but with his, of course, Japanese expertise.
33:37This is local Canadian sable.
33:39Yeah.
33:40Matsutake.
33:41How do you say that?
33:42Matsutake.
33:43You know, pine mushroom.
33:43Pine mushrooms of voluminous size grown right here in the Vancouver area.
33:48Yes.
33:48These beautiful sour orange lemon limes.
33:53Yeah.
33:53We call it Tsutachi.
33:54Tsutachi.
33:55They're very beautiful.
33:56Mango and asparagus.
33:57Yes.
33:58So, but already here, it's already, you know, pine mushroom, we must be...
34:04These are beautiful.
34:05Oh, look.
34:05They're gigantic.
34:07It's a more flavor come to a very close one, more flavor and texture.
34:11Open one, you know.
34:12That's so good.
34:13Yeah.
34:13Keep them closed like that so the caps are still part of the stem.
34:16All right.
34:16More flavor come.
34:17So, I'm going to make this and...
34:21And this fish is...
34:22This is fresh or smoked?
34:24Smoked.
34:25Special custom smoked.
34:26Oh, delicious.
34:27Who smokes?
34:28We have a supplier from Vancouver Island.
34:32So, my friend is smoked.
34:34Smoked over what kind of wood?
34:36This is cedar.
34:37Cedar wood.
34:37It smells amazing.
34:40So, I cut this, make it a butterfly for just like here.
34:44I cut four.
34:46And here.
34:49Now, seibo is one of my favorite fish.
34:52It's very dense and flavorful.
34:55Yeah.
34:56This fish is very interesting.
34:58When you cook it, it's many different ways.
35:01So, I cut this just like it is.
35:06Four way.
35:07So, I put it right.
35:08Okay.
35:10Two ways.
35:11Oh, beautiful.
35:12One more time.
35:13One more time.
35:14Four ways.
35:15So, just like this.
35:17So, I gave you a half here.
35:18So, you're going to make one more set.
35:26Something about Japanese food that just makes my mouth water, water, water.
35:29I want to eat every single thing I see.
35:31Okay.
35:32So, we are already here.
35:35So, this is pine mushroom already marinated.
35:39Yes.
35:40Oh, marinated in what?
35:41Soya.
35:42Soya.
35:42And Japanese cooking, you know, sake.
35:45Okay.
35:45And a little bit of salt.
35:47Okay.
35:47So, we put this maybe two piece here.
35:51So.
35:51In the center?
35:52Yeah.
35:52Okay.
35:52Then, a little bit.
35:53We put this asparagus.
35:57Okay.
35:57You know, green.
35:59Then, you know.
36:00Mango again.
36:01Mango.
36:01How delicious.
36:02So, you like mango very much.
36:03Yeah.
36:03So, we roll, just, you know.
36:06Oops.
36:07Use your finger.
36:08Yep.
36:09Okay.
36:12So, look at that.
36:15Then, next one, very interesting.
36:17We wrap this parchment paper.
36:20Parchment.
36:21Parchment paper.
36:22Which is available at any cooking store now.
36:26Paper made from thinly pressed pine is wrapped inside the parchment paper to add more flavor.
36:31You cut this off.
36:33Okay.
36:35Then, we, we took it here.
36:41Then, one more time.
36:45Then, yeah.
36:47Beautiful.
36:48Then, you put the corner just like this.
36:53Then.
36:54This one goes this way.
36:56Yeah, that is it.
36:57Okay.
36:57Like that?
36:58Yeah.
37:00So, this one about, we cooking is oven.
37:03Oh, so you put it in the oven.
37:06Yeah, we put it in the oven.
37:07It's in the oven.
37:08For how long?
37:08We, 550 niguri to about 10 to 12 minutes.
37:12While this cooks in a very hot oven, our chef, Tojo-san, is going to serve me an omakase menu, which means chef's choice.
37:21Our meal consisted of dishes such as wild sockeye salmon sushi, lightly seared alvacore tuna, and Tojo's BC roll, as well as those we'd prepared earlier.
37:33Stephen Wong is a noted food writer, wine writer, and bon vivant here in Vancouver.
37:39However, he has been eating at this restaurant for many years, and he says, and I quote, that he has rarely tasted the same thing twice at Tojo.
37:50Is that true, Stephen?
37:51Absolutely.
37:52It's just tremendous.
37:53Are you just mind-boggled every time you come here at the variety?
37:56Yes, and I also love the way he works.
37:59I mean, it's so wonderfully, almost effortless when you watch him, you know, doing his work.
38:06Well, he's a creative chef, a creative genius.
38:09I'm about to open my packet of Canadian sable.
38:13Canadian sable fish.
38:15Special smoke.
38:16I want to see what flavor actually was imparted by the paper that was inserted underneath the piece of fish.
38:26Oh, it looks so beautiful.
38:28And the smell.
38:29Oh, the smell is so fragrant.
38:35Oh, it's fantastic.
38:37This sable is delicious.
38:40Thank you very much.
38:41The mushrooms are fantastic.
38:43The lime taste is wonderful.
38:47Well, here's to you.
38:48You are an amazing chef.
38:50Thank you very much.