I adore East Asian cuisine. I have tried Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Hmong, and Korean. I loved all of it. I enjoy eating at local restaurants, but have tried a recipe here and there to attempt some of my favorite dishes at home. I have tried cashew chicken at both Thai and Chinese restaurants and found it to be a delicious dish in both cuisines. It's not the usual thing to find in a church cookbook, but I found it in Break Bread with Us by Southside Baptist Church. I decided to try it and see if it could replicate. While not being an exact match to my favorite Thai and Chinese restaurant dishes, it was good in its own way and I would definitely make it again.
Ingredients: chicken breasts, soy sauce, cornstarch, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, vegetables, onion soup, green onions, cashew nuts, oil
Step 1: Cut chicken into small pieces. Marinate in 1/4 c. soy sauce for about 1 hour. Step 2: Heat oil in pan and stir fry cashews until brown, about 1-2 minutes. Step 3: Using slotted spoon, remove cashew nuts and replace with chicken. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until opaque. Step 4: Add vegetables, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and some of the green onions. (The recipe called for Chinese vegetables. I used what I had on hand, which was bell pepper, onion, and zucchini.) Dissolve cornstarch into soy sauce and add to mixture, along with soup. (I couldn't find the onion soup, so I made my own after a Google search gave me some guidelines: beef boullion, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder.) Step 5: Stir while sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add cashews and top with remaining onions. Serve over rice or noodles.
Cashew Chicken
Recipe:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 1 whole chicken deboned
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 small can water chestnuts
1 c. vegetables of your choice
1 c. onion soup
Several green onions
3/4 c. cashew nuts
6 T. oil
Cut chicken into small pieces. Marinate in 1/4 c. soy sauce for about 1 hour. Heat oil in pan and stir fry cashews until brown, about 1-2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove cashew nuts and replace with chicken. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until opaque. Add vegetables, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and some of the green onions. Dissolve cornstarch into soy sauce and add to mixture, along with soup. Stir while sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add cashews and top with remaining onions. Serve over rice or noodles.
Source: Martha Mullen, Break Bread with Us by Southside Baptist Church, 2006