diff --git a/fsspec/asyn.py b/fsspec/asyn.py
index 837728394..bd7d92c09 100644
--- a/fsspec/asyn.py
+++ b/fsspec/asyn.py
@@ -328,6 +328,11 @@ def loop(self):
         return self._loop
 
     async def _rm_file(self, path, **kwargs):
+        if (
+            inspect.iscoroutinefunction(self._rm)
+            and type(self)._rm is not AsyncFileSystem._rm
+        ):
+            return await self._rm(path, recursive=False, batch_size=1, **kwargs)
         raise NotImplementedError
 
     async def _rm(self, path, recursive=False, batch_size=None, **kwargs):
diff --git a/fsspec/tests/test_async.py b/fsspec/tests/test_async.py
index 97759ba30..53dd06562 100644
--- a/fsspec/tests/test_async.py
+++ b/fsspec/tests/test_async.py
@@ -205,3 +205,42 @@ async def test_async_streamed_file_read():
         == b"foo-bar" * 20
     )
     await streamed_file.close()
+
+
+def test_rm_file_with_rm_implementation():
+    class AsyncFSWithRm(fsspec.asyn.AsyncFileSystem):
+        def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+            super().__init__(**kwargs)
+            self.removed_paths = []
+
+        async def _rm(self, path, recursive=False, batch_size=None, **kwargs):
+            if isinstance(path, str):
+                path = [path]
+            for p in path:
+                self.removed_paths.append(p)
+            return None
+
+    fs = AsyncFSWithRm()
+    fs.rm_file("test/file.txt")
+    assert "test/file.txt" in fs.removed_paths
+
+
+def test_rm_file_with_rm_file_implementation():
+    class AsyncFSWithRmFile(fsspec.asyn.AsyncFileSystem):
+        def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+            super().__init__(**kwargs)
+            self.removed_paths = []
+
+        async def _rm_file(self, path, **kwargs):
+            self.removed_paths.append(path)
+            return None
+
+    fs = AsyncFSWithRmFile()
+    fs.rm_file("test/file.txt")
+    assert "test/file.txt" in fs.removed_paths
+
+
+def test_rm_file_without_implementation():
+    fs = fsspec.asyn.AsyncFileSystem()
+    with pytest.raises(NotImplementedError):
+        fs.rm_file("test/file.txt")