Grilling asparagus may sound like a rather tedious process, and indeed, if you’re not big on grilling, a similar effect can be achieved by tossing it with some olive oil in a baking pan and popping it under the broiler for a few minutes. However, if you’re already BBQ-ing, as we were, it seems a shame to go to all the fuss and bother of heating up the oven.

The biggest hazard when it comes to grilling asparagus is that it has a terrible tendency to slip through the grate on the grill, at which point it is no longer edible, *and* you have to disassemble the BBQ to extract it. However, on this particular evening, I had a flash of brilliance of Fine-Cooking-Tips-and-Tricks proportions: I took the fish-grilling basket, and chucked the asparagus in there, closed it up and put it on the grill. It worked perfectly. There was no asparagus-spear herding with the tongs or the spatula, just flip it over a couple times while your other grillables are cooking and there you have it: grilled asparagus, no fuss, no bother, no grill pan.

A word of warning though (well, 2 actually). I failed to toss my spears with salt and olive oil before grilling (I was *that* lazy), which probably would have made for a tastier result (we were doing Asian style chicken thighs with the asparagus, so I drizzled it with a soy-and-hoisin sauce, which basically had the same effect. Also, I recommend not stuffing *too* much asparagus into the fish-basket. Ideally you want each spear to be expose to the flame on at least one side (so 2 layers of asparagus at most), otherwise the ones in the center don’t cook very well.

Grilled Asparagus Spears and Five-Spice Chicken Thighs with Soy-Vinegar Sauce & Cilantro

The chicken thighs are from The Wonder Issue of Fine Cooking. The ingredient list is nothing special, but somehow this is one of the most Asian-tasting recipes for Asian style chicken I’ve ever tried (and, its a mix, marinade and grill sort of thing, which makes it that much better).

Servings: Serves four to six (and great as left-overs).

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 large, 10 medium, or 12 small), trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil; more for the grill
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions
1. Mix the five-spice powder, the 1 tablespoon sugar, the garlic powder, and the salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.
2. Put the chicken in a shallow pan, drizzle with the vegetable oil, and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken; toss and rub to coat thoroughly.
3. Prepare a hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill with all burners on medium high for 10 minutes. Clean the hot grate with a wire brush and then lubricate it with an oil-soaked paper towel. Put the chicken on the grate and grill (covered on a gas grill or uncovered over a charcoal fire) until one side has dark grill marks, 5 to 6 minutes for large thighs or 4 to 5 minutes for medium and small thighs. Turn and continue to grill until well marked on the other sides and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes longer for large thighs or 4 to 5 minutes for medium and small thighs.
4. Move the thighs to a serving dish. Drizzle with about half of the soy mixture, sprinkle with the cilantro, and toss to coat. Let rest 4 to 5 minutes, tossing once or twice. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with the remaining soy mixture passed at the table.

Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus spears
Salt
Olive Oil

Optional:
1 tbsp hoisin sauce,
1 tsp soy sauce

Toss the spears with salt and olive oil, place in a fish grilling basket, and grill along side the chicken, if you want, you can drizzle it with the soy/hoisin mix afterwards.