Cashew Chicken

I am sorry dear readers that all I have been posting lately is sweet, calorie laden foods. My friend Carrie informed me that she missed the dinner updates on my blog and challenged me to post something new this week. After searching for days (yes, literally days) I decided to make this cashew chicken recipe from the Williams-Sonoma website. My mom always orders cashew chicken but I had never had it before. Not only am I posting a new recipe this week but I am also posting something that I tried for the first time. Hopefully I can keep up the pace at post at least one new dinner recipe a week.

I was quite surprised how quickly this meal came together, I think it could easily be done from start to finish in about 40 minutes, even with the chicken taking 15 minutes to marinate. I have nothing to compare this to since I have never had cashew chicken before but I do have to say that this dish was pretty good. The only substitution that I made was to use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. My husband thought the recipe was great just how it was but I think it needed a bit more sauce. I think next time I will double the sauce recipe so I have enough to drizzle over my rice. All in all this was a delicious quick meal that I will definitely be making again.


Cashew Chicken

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

~makes 4 servings ~

Ingredients
3 tablespoons. soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup salted roasted cashews
Steamed rice for serving

Directions
Marinate the chicken - In a large bowl, stir together 2 Tbs. of the soy sauce, the wine and ginger. Stir in the chicken to coat evenly and set aside for 15 minutes.
Make the sauce - In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbs. water, the remaining 1 Tbs. soy sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, sugar and cornstarch, and stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch.
Stir-fry the chicken - Heat a wok or large fry pan over high heat until very hot and add 2 Tbs. of the corn oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade, draining it well, and discard the marinade. Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until opaque, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl.
Return the wok to medium heat and add the remaining 1 Tbs. corn oil. Add the green onions and stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Return the chicken to the wok and add the cashews. Give the sauce a quick stir, add to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately with the steamed rice.