The search for the perfect cashew chicken continues. This one was a bit further off the mark but good non the less. As far as the leftovers test goes this dish had none, that’s a good thing. The picture from the recipe I used looked a lot more like Archie’s amazing sauce/gravy that I’m looking for but when I made it, it looked nothing like that. So I’m assuming it’s the different brand of hoisin I used. Like, I don’t know how her’s came out with a more auburn color and mine was so dark and dry. It had to be the hoisin and as I think back I have a strange hankering that I forgot to add the 1/4 c. water, oops! Oh well, it was very edible and yummy just not anywhere near Archie’s. And the search goes on…
( I may try this one again with a different hoisin and make sure I add the H2O. The picture of her’s looks too much like what I’m trying to achieve that I feel something went horribly wrong here.)
Cashew Chicken
Makes 4 small 2 large portions. Recipe from Once Upon a Chef.
- Ingredients
- around 1 lb. boneless & skinless chicken breast, cubed. (organic free range whenever you can swing it.)
- 3/4 c. roasted unsalted cashew nuts
- 1/2 t. sea salt
- 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, or corn)
- 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 T. rice vinegar
- 4 T. hoisin sauce
- 1 T. soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 t. sesame oil
- Preparation
Bake cashews at 350 degrees until fragrant, about 5 min. Cashews will get crispy after they cool down a bit. Evenly coat chicken pieces with salt and pepper in a bowl. Cook half of the chicken pieces in 1 T. of the oil on high until light brown but not cooked all the way through. Set aside and cook the other half of the chicken pieces. We cook the chicken in two batches so pieces have room to be tossed and cooked all around evenly. If we put all the chicken in skillet they would be too jam packed to get a nice even brown on all sides. Now add another T. of oil and cook the second half of the chicken pieces, garlic and white parts of scallions. Stir fry until the chicken is cooked the same as first batch then add the original chicken pieces you set aside back to the skillet. Turn down the heat to medium and add vinegar, stir/cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce and water. Toss/cook until chicken is cooked all the way through. Remove from heat and add in green parts of scallions, cashews and sesame oil. Serve with brown rice.