Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer share recipe for sweet and sticky pork with asparagus

Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer are showing you how to reinvent the weeknight dinner by being smarter with your time in the kitchen.

Their new cookbook, "The Modern Proper," expands your go-to recipe list and help you become a more intuitive, creative cook.

Here, they share their recipe for sweet and sticky pork with asparagus.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/4 cup coconut aminos

1 Tbsp. sambal oekel or other chili paste

Coconut rice or cooked rice, for serving

Note: If you don't have coconut aminos on hand, substitute 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce mixed with 1 tbsp. light brown sugar.

Directions:

1. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and use a wooden spoon to break it up into bite-size pieces. Cook, undisturbed, until beginning to brown and crisp, about eight minutes. Add the asparagus and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the pork is cooked through and the asparagus is just tender, about three more minutes.

2. Stir in the coconut aminos and sambal oelek and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until the pork and asparagus are coated in the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Serve over coconut rice or plain rice.

Coconut rice

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk, shaken

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups long-gran white rice, rinsed

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, stir together the coconut milk, one cup water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir the rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice, using the fork. Turn off the heat and let the rice sit on the hot stove for another two to three minutes before serving.