While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the poached eggs. Crack an egg into a small sieve and strain off as much excess white as possible. Transfer the egg to a ramekin. Continue on with the remaining eggs until all eggs are in individual ramekins. Note: If you have only have 2 ramekins. add the eggs to the water in batches; timing will need to be adjusted for eggs added in the second batch.
To the simmering water, use the back of the spoon to create a small whirlpool at 12:00. Lower the ramekin right to the water's edge and carefully drop the first egg into the whirlpool and use the back of your spoon to gently nudge the egg over so it's as close to 12:00 as possible. Make a second whirlpool at 3:00 and drop the second egg in. Continue on in the same way at 6:00 and at 9:00 until all 4 eggs are added.
As the eggs are cooking, microwave a plate for 1 minutes.
Note: If you have strained off as much of the egg white as possible, you should not have any wispy egg whites in the water.
Check the eggs after about 4 or so minutes. You should be able to lift them out of the water with a fork. You may need to use a fork to nudge the eggs into a larger spoon if that makes it easier to remove.
Transfer the eggs to the warm plate and set them aside as you assemble the rest of the dish.