Cashew Chicken

Ever since high school, every single Friday I get crazy Chinese food cravings. I'm not sure what it is about Fridays but for some reason my body craves sushi, steamed rice, and any type of gluttonous, gooey, MSG filled entree. The old me would order take-out on Friday nights and call it a day but the new me is a little more cautious about what goes into my body. 

Typical Chinese takeout is loaded with fat, calories, carbohydrates and most likely 50 other things I can't even pronounce. Now every once in a while it's okay to indulge but I prefer to indulge in foods that don't put me into a food coma or make me feel like a slug for the rest of the day. 

This past Friday I got my sushi fix but I wasn't able to get my Chinese food fix because we ended up going grocery shopping after work. It's now Sunday and I am STILL craving Chinese so I decided to make one of my favorite dishes for dinner: cashew chicken. It's one of the few Chinese dishes that I do not feel guilty about eating so there are typically no leftovers...you will understand why when you make this dish!

Cashew Chicken

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 10 ounces), cut into small cubes
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
• 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 dashes white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 small green bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 inch grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (canola or vegetable)
• 1/2 cup cashews
• Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken in the baking soda for 15-20 minutes. Rinse chicken thoroughly, making sure that the chicken is rinsed clean of the baking soda. Pat chicken dry and marinate in corn starch and rice wine for 15 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, white pepper, sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Heat wok with 1 tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until edges turn white (or until half-cooked). Remove chicken from wok and set aside. Add another tablespoon of cooking oil to wok then add green pepper and grated ginger. Stir-fry until you begin to smell the green pepper (about 2 minutes). Return the chicken to the wok. Add the sauce and continuously stir until the chicken is cook through and coated with sauce. Once chicken is cooked, add cashews and stir only a few times to mix. Serve over steamed rice. 

Note: if you do not have a wok, feel free to use a large skillet

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia