What hourly wage are you imputing to your cooking to get US$10 for a meal of asparagus, chicken, and rice? My estimate for the materials would be:

- 250g raw chicken wings: $375 ≈ 30¢ (I bought these on Saturday, so this is the current price)

- 200g asparagus: $1500 ≈ US$1 (this is a rough guess because I never buy it and the greengrocer doesn't have a web site)

- 100g dry long-grain rice: $100 ≈ 7¢ (just checked the price online, and I think this is rather high)

- water to drink and cook the rice is unmetered here

Total: US$1.37. But you could easily get it down to less than half that with a different vegetable. Salts, spices, and oils might add a few pennies.

Possibly if you are at McMurdo Base or something your ingredient prices might be unusual.