Recipe: Cashew Chicken
Ingredients:
1 boneless & skinless chicken breast, about 10 oz. (cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup unsalted cashew nuts
1 small green bell pepper, about 4 oz. (cut into small square pieces)
(I hate peppers, and used celery)
5 slices ginger
1/4 onion (cut into small square pieces)
(I used green onions because I had them)
Marinate:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
Sauce:
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
3 dashes white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
(also called Mirin at the grocery store)
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 15-20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly. (Please make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda.).
This sounds so weird, but what it does to the chicken is AMAZING. The chicken came out so ridiculously tender; I was shocked. It's almost like the only word to describe the texture is "silky". Is there anything baking soda can't do? To make this a faster weeknight meal, cut the chicken the night before, baking soda it (I'm making that a verb), rinse, and then store in the fridge.
Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients (rice wine and cornstarch) for 15 minutes. I marinated it while I made the fried rice.
Mix the sauce together and set aside.
Weeknight tip: make the sauce night before and store in the fridge.
Heat up a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until the color turns white or half-cooked. Dish out and set aside.
Add another 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into the wok and add in the ginger slices, bell peppers
(celery) and onions.
 |
| The sign of a good cook is a crusty wok. Oy vey |
Stir-fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the green peppers
(celery) and add the chicken meat back in.
Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is cooked and well coated with the sauce. Add salt to taste, if you like.
I did
Add in the cashews and do a few quick stirs. Dish out and serve the Cashew Chicken hot over rice.
We topped ours with Sambal Oelek (chili sauce) cause we like it hot and spicy in this house!
That's what she said!
Want to see a trick I use when trying a new recipe? Take a clip with a magnet on the back (5 pack from Target for under $10), and clip the recipe to the hood on your stove. It's right at eye-level and off of the counter so that you don't have to keep picking up the recipe to figure out the next step/ingredient.
I bet I could sell this idea to Williams and Sonoma or Sur La Table and they'd retail for about $15. They're probably rename them something like "hands-free recipe device" or "Ergonomic food instruction display".
