Recipe - Asparagus Salad With Vinaigrette Chinoise

1 pound Thin asparagus, end trimmed
and stalks peeled to the
tip, if thick
One half Head redleaf lettuce
One fourth cup Rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
One half teaspoon Sugar
One fourth teaspoon Dried red pepper flakes
3 tablespoon Corn oil
4 teaspoon Sesame seed oil
Coarse salt
1 teaspoon Unsalted butter
One fourth cup Raw sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon Diagonally cut or sliced up green
onion, green part only

(From "Pacific Northwest Palate," by Susan Bradley.)

Slice the asparagus in a long diagonal at 2" intervals. Blanch in a
large pot of boiling water for about 4 minutes, until just
tendercrunchy. Drain, refresh under cold running water, then dry
carefully with paper towels.

Whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper,
corn oil, sesame seed oil and salt, to taste. Toss with the
asparagus. Cool, cover and refrigerate for several hours or
overnight, if desired.

Melt the butter in a small saute pan and stirfry the sunflower seeds
until golden brown. Remove and reserve.

When ready to serve, toss the asparagus and vinaigrette again,
arrange on red lettuce leaves on individual salad plates and top with
toasted sunflower seeds and cut or sliced up green onions.

From Tuscon area newspapers, 1994, 3rd quarter, courtest Mike Orchekowski.
File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/tn94q3.zip