Five-spice chicken

Ginger, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel, garlic… oh my!  This dish really packs a punch when it comes to flavor.  Moist chunks of chicken in a reduced chicken broth with crunchy pieces of green beans- it wins on the texture side too.It’s fairly simple in execution and is done easiest when all of the vegetables are chopped ahead of time.
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 cups chicken broth
½ inch sliced fresh ginger
6 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
5 star anise
½ tsp dried fennel seeds
1 medium-sized onion, chopped into big chunks
3 cloves garlic, chopped in big pieces
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed off and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup minced scallions
Directions:

• Healthy Sauté the onion in a large frying pan over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently

• Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute
• Add the chicken broth, ginger, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, and fennel seeds. Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer for 15 minutes

• Strain the broth mixture and put liquid back into pan. Bring to a boil and simmer on high heat with chicken pieces, green beans, and mushrooms

• Add scallion, salt and pepper to taste