Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC). Position an oven rack to the center position.

Snap off the bottoms of the asparagus, particularly the dry and woody parts or the white/purple parts.

Rinse the asparagus and pat dry with a cloth. Transfer the asparagus to a large baking sheet. There’s no need to line the sheet pan.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the asparagus. Rub and roll the spears around so that they are covered in oil. Spread the spears so that they are lined up in a single layer.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the asparagus. Roast the asparagus for 8 to 9 minutes. If the asparagus are pencil thin, roast them for 6 to 7 minutes. For the chunky asparagus that are about 1 inch thick on the bottom, roast them for 10 to 12 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly to keep the garlic from burning. Sprinkle a small pinch of salt. Once most of the garlic looks very lightly golden, turn off the heat and transfer the garlic to a bowl immediately. Don’t leave the garlic in the pan as the garlic will continue to brown and might even burn. Burnt garlic tastes bitter. 

Transfer the asparagus to a serving plate. Drizzle some hot sesame oil over the asparagus, if desired. Then, top with the fried garlic. If it’s looking like too much garlic for you, feel free to save it and eat with rice or any other dish like congee or vegan congee. Then, spoon some Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp over the asparagus. I usually use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chili crisp, but feel free to add more.

Serve the asparagus with plain jasmine rice, shrimp fried rice or any of my rice or noodle dishes.