Cashew Chicken

tgobbi's Note:

This is the cashew chicken dish I served when I owned my restaurant. It's adapted from "The Chinese Menu Cookbook" by Hush and Wong.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1/2 lb chicken breast, diced

Marinade

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For frying

• 1 cup vegetable oil, about

Vegetables

• 1/2 cup diced water chestnut
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1/2 cup diced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup toasted cashews
• chicken stock, as needed
• 3 -5 drops sesame oil

Directions:

1. *Hoisin sauce is available in Asian markets.
2. It's made with beans, flour, garlic, etc.
3. This is the stuff they serve with mu shu pork that they call plum sauce.
4. It is, in fact not plum sauce and doesn't look or taste anything like plum sauce.
5. Marinade (10- 20 minutes).
6. Sub other vegetables if you want.
7. Heat the oil in wok; carefully add chicken and stir unti just cooked.
8. (This shouldn't take more than 90 seconds to two minutes).
9. Remove to a sieve and let the oil drain into a bowl.
10. Reheat the wok and add a tablespoon or two of the oil.
11. Stir fry the vegetables until just cooked.
12. Return chicken; stir in hoisin adding a little chicken stock if too dry.
13. Stir in nuts& sesame oil.
14. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
15. Note: this dish doesn't have a lot of gravy, just the hoisin that coats the chicken and vegetables.

Reviews

[Karen from Montana]

Probably the best Chinese I've ever cooked. I didn't have the hoisin sauce, but even without, it was terrific.

[Upsidedown Again]

I love this dish! It's very tasty. My family loved it.

[Julie B.]

This was incredible! The first time I've ever made Chinese food that was anything like restaurant-quality. My whole family inhaled it, and I can't wait to have the leftovers (of which there wasn't much) for lunch tomorrow. I added some soy sauce along with the hoisin at the end, and put garlic and ginger in the chicken marinade.