 Did you catch my description of the savory and spicy XO sauce a while back? Did you read the post from earlier in the spring about how edamame, an easy-to-grow and delicious snack actually improves your garden soil? I said it was a win-win situation. Well, guess what happens if you add XO sauce to edamame you’ve grown yourself? Win-win-win. Instructions for how to grow edamame and recipe for XO sauce in The Chinese Kitchen Garden!
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 What do gardeners love? Nitrogen! Why? Because it makes leafy plants big and green! How do we get it? Soybeans! Wait, what? That is right. The soybean, well-known in the food world by its Japanese name - edamame, is a legume that actually fixes nitrogen in soil. See the little tiny nodules found all over the roots of this pulled-out edamame plant? These nodules allow more nitrogen to be delivered to the soil for the next plants that go in that spot in the garden. This means you get to enjoy the easy-growing, nutty and delicious edamame AND make your garden better in the process. It’s a win-win situation.  Well, THIS was a delicious salad from Panera! The next time I get it, I’ll go lighter on the Thai chili vinaigrette (because it had a little heat but was a bit too sweet to my taste…) and heavier on peanut sauce. I did love the addition of fire-roasted edamame, and here’s what I’d like to tell you… not only is edamame delicious, easy to cook and easy to grow (especially for new gardeners), but it’s a nitrogen-fixing plant meaning it’s actually GOOD for your garden as well! If you don’t plan to grow edamame this year, you can find pods or beans in most supermarkets these days. I loved the individual fire roasted beans in this salad but The Chinese Kitchen Garden also describes many other ways to use edamame in the kitchen.
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AuthorI'm Wendy Kiang-Spray, gardener, home cook, and author of The Chinese Kitchen Garden. Learn more about the book here. Enjoy the blog and be sure to like The Chinese Kitchen Garden Facebook page for notifications when there are new posts. Archives
April 2019
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