Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken is a dish that’s popular in most Chinese and/or Thai restaurants. It’s a versatile given the fact you can throw in the veggies of your choice as long as the chicken and cashews are a constant.

This recipe includes a sweet/spicy sauces to accompany the veggies, chicken and cashews. The best part is that it’s loaded with nutrient-rich veggies and protein-rich chicken.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 white onion
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 TBSP cornstarch (dissolved in 3 TBSP water)
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 4 green onions, cut into thirds
• 4 leaves of purple or green cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 cup cashews, dry roasted
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Marinade:

• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP water

Sauce:

• 3 TBSP dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 2 TBSP brown sugar

Veggies for Cashew Chicken

1. To make the marinade, dissolve 2 tsp of cornstarch in 2 TBSP of soy sauce and 1 TBSP of water in a medium-sized bowl. Add chicken pieces and stir to combine. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk to mix to make the sauce.
3. In a wok or large pan, saute the onion, garlic, red pepper, broccoli and green onion in oil over medium-high heat for about two minutes.
4. Add the marinated chicken and mushrooms. Continue stir frying until chicken pieces are cooked (up to five minutes). If the wok becomes dry, add broth or white wine (1 TBSP at a time).
5. Add the cabbage and continue stir frying another 2 minutes.
6. Add the sauce and cashews to the wok then add the cornstarch powder dissolved in water and soy sauce. Continuing stirring until all ingredients are well combine and the sauce thickens.
7. While cooking, taste test for salt and sweetness. If it’s too sour, add more sugar. If it’s not salty enough, add more fish sauce.
8. Serve over rice or noodles.

If you don’t own a wok, I highly suggest investing in one. They’re perfect for stir-fry dishes such as Cashew Chicken. This recipe should suffice when you don’t have the time venture to your local Chinese or Thai restaurant.

Also, a side note, but I used salt and pepper cashews from Whole Foods to give my version a little extra kick. Though regular dry-roasted cashews should work just fine.