Family Favorites...Chicken and Cashews

Don’t spend a lot of money at the Chinese buffet…this delicious gingered chicken stir fry is excellent with rice, and best of all, I usually have all the ingredients on hand.  The rice takes the longest, the actual stir-frying takes less than 10 minutes.  Marinate your chicken first, start your rice, then assemble your sauce and chop your vegetables.  Don’t let the long list of ingredients intimidate you, some of them are repeated in both the sauce and marinade. 

If you don’t have sesame oil, use what you have.  I would recommend that every cook have a $5-$10 bottle of dry sherry (not cooking sherry) on hand for adding to sauces and gravies and deglazing pans.

I usually don’t have fresh ginger, but I buy the ginger in the tubes (usually in the salad department), you need about half as much as the recipe calls for.  There is no waste with this kind of ginger, and I’m not such a purist that I want to waste ingredients.  I also appreciated that the vegetables are ones I usually have for salads, not something exotic I have to specially purchase.

We enjoyed the recipe adapted from "Cooking Light MAY 2009", and have made it several times.                      

                           Chicken and Cashews

  1         Pound  Chicken Breast Halves Without Skin -- cut into bite-sized pieces

                        Marinade

  1         Tablespoon  Soy Sauce

  2        Tablespoons  Dry Sherry

  2         Teaspoons  Cornstarch -- divided

                        Sauce

  2         Tablespoons  soy sauce

  2         Teaspoons  cornstarch

     ½     Cup  Chicken Broth

  2         Tablespoons  Oyster Sauce

  1         Tablespoon  Honey

                        Stir fry ingredients

  2          Teaspoons  Sesame Oil -- divided

     ¾      Cup  Onion -- chopped

     ½      Cup  Celery -- chopped

     ½      Cup  Red Bell Pepper -- chopped

  1         Tablespoon  Fresh Ginger -- grated

  2         Cloves  Garlic -- minced

     ¼      Cup  Cashews -- dry roasted, unsalted, coarsely chopped

1. Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and chicken in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, broth, oyster sauce, and honey in a small bowl or measuring cup.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from pan. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Return chicken mixture to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cashews.

4 servings               Yield:  "3 Cups"