A lite and easy side dish with great flavor. It can be made ahead of time (in fact, the longer it sits in the fridge the better) and served the next day!

3 lbs. fresh asparagus –trim the bottoms off

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon honey (or you can use agave nector)

1 pinch cayenne pepper (you can add more if you really like cayenne)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1 Thai chile (thinly sliced. I is used for a garnish so totally optional)

Blanch the asparagus (Cook asparagus in pot of boiling salted water 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water.)

Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, garlic, ginger, honey (or agave) and cayenne.

Place the asparagus in a large baking dish. I use an oval casserole dish.

Pour the sauce over the asparagus so that it is covered. If you need to add a little bit of water so that the asparagus is covered you can.

Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

Toast the sesame seeds. Use an oil free pan.

Drain off marinade; arrange asparagus on serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chile slices.

Serve cold.

*this recipe was from Vegetarian Times*