Chinatown Stir-fried Asparagus with Oyster Sauce

Perusing menus from hundreds of Chinese restaurants, I was struck by the number that feature this simple stir-fried asparagus dish. It is truly a Westernized Chinese dish, for asparagus is a relatively recent arrival in Chinese cooking. The ever-pragmatic Chinese cooks instantly realized the appeal of this popular vegetable in the West and learned to combine it with a tasteful and very Chinese treat – oyster sauce. The result quickly became a popular standard item that every non-Chinese din