Oriental Chicken and Edamame

I have been trying (without much success) to infuse soy into our diet. I am down to tempeh and edamame, everything else was not a success story in this house.

As usual, I am late to the edamame party. Yes, I knew what it was, it's easily found around here and it seems to appeal to everyone, especially kids. Hey, I have a kid in the house, and like most who do all the cooking, find a good time to slide it in the shopping cart and you're halfway there. I suppose I could have just plopped a dish down and let him try it, but I find that if the recipient gives the A-OK there's a 99% chance it will get eaten.

After what seemed to me to be as tough as the Spanish Inquisition, I finally wore The Nudge down and after explaining, in what also felt like I was on the rack, what EXACTLY these beans were, he agreed to try them.

The Oriental Chicken and Green Beans became Oriental Chicken and Edamame.
This will be interesting, after my fiasco on Sunday with a banana pancake recipe I was developing. In all my years of cooking, I have never had anyone spit their food out seconds after touchdown. Oh, yeah, was something right out of the Sunday funnies. I thought for sure after that, he would nix the beans.

I did some research on the Internet about how to cook them from a frozen state and it's pretty much the way you would cook fresh green beans so the original recipe won't change all that much.

As with most stir fries, the meat is marinaded, cut into small pieces and then flash fried. This also gives the dish good flavor so make sure your marinade is highly spiced. This is where the umami comes into play. The BBQ and Southern crowd is fond of Worcestershire, the Mediterranean crowd loves anchovies, the Japanese have miso and the Asians thrive on soy sauce or fish sauce. It's all about those small little fishes that swim in the sea.

Ever see that commercial where the older brothers aren't sure about the new "healthy" cereal?
Well, I am happy to say, "He likes it, yea Nudge!!"

Oriental Chicken and Edamame
makes 2 servings

Marinade
* 2 teaspoons Tamari
* 1 teaspoons cornstarch
* 1 whole clove garlic, smashed
* Black pepper
* 1/2 pound chicken, cut into thin strips

* 1 tablespoon peanut oil
* 1/2 cup onion, diced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 cup frozen edamame
* 1 cup sliced mushrooms
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 packet Herb-Ox chicken broth and seasoning mix
* 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

1. Place the chicken with marinade into a zip bag and refrigerate for up to 4 hours or on the counter while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and saute in a hot pan coated with the peanut oil. Stir fry until the edges brown, remove to a bowl.
3. In the same pan, add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and ginger and continue to cook 4-5 minutes. Add the water, the seasoning packet and the frozen edamame. Stir, cover, reduced heat to simmer and cook for at least 5 minutes. Check for bean doneness. It should slice easily but still be firm to the tooth.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan, uncover and cook through for another 4 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce down and thicken. Right before serving, drizzle with the vinegar, toss one last time and finish with the sesame seeds.

Serve with brown rice, but in this house I use a long grain and wild rice mix, another of The Nudge's favorites. He enjoyed this dish even though it felt like I underwent a little torture.
In the end, I was happy to say the beans got eaten and nobody was hurt in the making of this recipe.