Ginger is a common ingredient used in Vietnamese cooking. My mom swears it. She said when she had me, she ate a lot of ginger to keep her healthy. She claims that ginger helps her digest the food in her stomach. We use it in everything, tea, cooking and even candy. So when I saw ginger paste on sale at the grocery store, I jumped at the chance to stock up. What’s on the menu this week? It’s ginger chicken & green beans.
What is ginger?
Ginger originated in Southeast Asia and is in the same family as turmeric, cardamom and galangal. The root or rhizome is what’s used as a spice.
Ginger comes in many different forms, fresh, dried, candied, powdered and paste. Of course, fresh ginger is best but when you are short on time, ginger paste comes in handy.
Peeling & storing fresh ginger
When using fresh ginger, the best and easiest way to peel it is to use a spoon to scrape off the peel. I like to store my peeled ginger in an airtight bag or container in the freezer and it can last up to six months. If you’re afraid once in the freezer, it will be forgotten, then only break off what you’re using and store any leftover unpeeled in an airtight container or bag in the fresh vegetables drawer in the refrigerators. It should last up to a month.
Marinade for chicken
My rule for making any meat taste better is to marinade. This is what my mom has taught me over the years. Plus it’s part of the Vietnamese cooking culture. Growing up there was always something marinating in the fridge. Perhaps this is why traditional Vietnamese cooking is so time consuming. I’ve found over the years that overnight marinating is best, but if you’re short on time, 10-15 minutes will do. Which is what I did for this recipe. Of course, how the meat turns out depends on the quality of the ingredients. So fresh is always best.
The main star of this dish is the ginger so I will use freshly grated ginger when possible. If you cannot find any fresh ginger, ginger powder will do, but splurge and get good quality ginger powder. After trying all kinds of ginger powder out there, I find that the ginger powder from True Essence Foods is by far the best. Just a little bit goes a long way and I definitely got the ginger taste.
No canned green beans…
I used fresh green beans for this dish. If you cannot find fresh green beans, you can use fresh broccoli instead. I would not use canned green beans. The texture is not there with canned green beans. You need that brightness and crunch that comes with fresh green beans.
After the chicken marinate, I toss it in a cast iron pan with some oil to cook. Because the chicken is in small pieces, it doesn’t take long to cook, which makes this a perfect weeknight dinner dish. After the chicken is cooked thoroughly, add in the green beans and let it cook for another 5 minutes, tossing the chicken and green beans to make sure everything is well mixed. That’s it!!! Dinner is done.
Serving ginger chicken & green beans
As with everything in Vietnamese cooking, this dish is served with a side of Jasmine rice. If you struggle with how to get fluffy, chewy Jasmine rice, check out my “Perfect Jasmine Rice” post.
For those who are looking to eat more veggies, serve this on a bed of romaine lettuce instead and use the juice as a dressing. That way, there’s no additional calories.
Ginger Chicken & Green Beans
Ingredients
- 4 pieces of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut up in cubes.
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp ginger paste or freshly grated ginger you can also use ginger powder.
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 2 cups fresh green beans
Instructions
- Sprinkle the boneless, skinless chicken thighs with salt.
- Gently rub the salt into the chicken then rinse the salt off using warm water and paper towels to pat dry. This washes away anything that was stuck on the chicken from the store.
- Cut the chicken into small, bite size pieces and set it aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oyster sauce, ginger paste, soy sauce, oil and chopped garlic. Mix well to combine all the ingredients. Give the marinade a taste and adjust accordingly.
- Pour the marinade over the cut up chicken pieces and let it marinade at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken marinades, heat up a pan on the stove. Pour the chicken and the marinade into the hot pan and cook the chicken until it's done. If the juices are running clear out of the chicken, that means the chicken is cooked.
- After the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the pan leaving in the pan any juices.
- Add the green beans to the pan that was used to cook the chicken in. Saute the green beans for 5 minutes. More if you like the green beans to soft instead of on the crunchy side.
- When the texture of the green beans is cooked to your liking, add the chicken back in.
- Serve with a side of Jasmine rice or on a bed of romaine lettuce.
If you are like me and love the taste of ginger, you’ll have to try this dish. It’s quick, easy and delicious. Perfect for a weeknight meal. Already made this dish before? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more recipes using ginger, try my coconut ginger chicken recipe.
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