Asparagus side dish (Asparagus-muchim)

Trim the tough, woody ends from the asparagus spears. You can either snap them off by hand or cut them with a knife.

In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the asparagus for 1 minute for thin spears, or 2 minutes for thicker ones.

Quickly remove the asparagus from the boiling water and rinse immediately under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Drain thoroughly.

Finely mince the garlic cloves and chop the green onion. Place them together in a large mixing bowl.

To the bowl, add soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, hot pepper paste (gochujang), sesame oil, salt, toasted sesame seeds, and rice syrup.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together until they are well combined.

Add the cooled and drained asparagus to the seasoning sauce and gently mix with your hands until every spear is coated.

Arrange the seasoned asparagus on a serving plate, pour any remaining sauce over the top, and garnish with more toasted sesame seeds.

While your rice is cooking and bubbling, add a handful of frozen peas directly into the pot.

Cover the pot, turn the heat down to low, and let it steam until the rice is fully cooked and the peas are tender.

Once cooked, fluff the rice and peas with a rice paddle to mix them together before serving.