Chicken and asparagus stir fry

Another nice recipe for using all that British asparagus that's now in season!

This is a really easy and really tasty recipe. First, cut the chicken breast into strips and place in a bowl with some soy sauce (for a British alternative, consider anchovy sauce, it doesn't taste the same, but it adds the same kind of rich, saltiness that you get from soy sauce), chopped garlic and dried (or even better, fresh) basil. I also like to add a generous portion of freshly ground black pepper. Mix all this up and set aside for around half an hour.

Then, simply chop two or three (depending on the size) shallot onions, half a red pepper, half a yellow pepper and some asparagus. I like to keep the asparagus fairly long, so I cut it into three or four sections. Add some oil to a wok and heat until it's nice and hot. Then fry the shallot onions until they are soft and beginning to turn brown. Add the chicken and continue to cook on a high heat. I find that you can tell that the chicken is cooked through when you can break a piece in two using only a blunt wooden spoon, but this will generally take about 5 minutes. Stir regularly while it's cooking to avoid anything sticking to the wok. Next, add the chopped sweet pepper and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until beginning to soften. You could also add some frozen peas at this point if you like.

Add the asparagus last, as it requires the least cooking and you don't want to over cook it.
Cook for a further three or four minutes. Serve with rice, as shown above. That's it!