I am late! I should have posted this on Sunday but it was Daring Cooks day, then yesterday was the day to post about Valentine's Day, and so on, and so on . . . LOL Such is the life of a busy blogger.
Last week was Candi's turn to select the recipe for the Sunday Slow Supper group to play with. She selected the category of stir fries and her recipe was a Thai treat that she was introduced to during her recent trip to Thailand. She was given a recipe in the cooking class and shared it (with modifications) with us.
Paul and I love stir fries - the intermingled flavours, crisp vegetables, and the speed with which they arrive at the table are all wonderful. The secret to stir fries is having EVERYTHING chopped, measured, and ready to go because they cook so quickly - just cooking for a minute or two longer then needed while you slice up an onion is the difference between a well prepared dish and, well, mush!
I followed the recipe as printed with one exception - we tend to like the sauce on the thick side so I thicken it. I thought it was easier to do while the dish cooks rather than removing all the veggies and thickening the sauce separately. The easiest way to do this is to mix the corn starch in with the chicken broth prior to pouring it in to the wok. The sauce was thickened by the time everything was crisp tender and perfectly cooked.
This was an excellent stir fry! Thanks Candi.
Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry
cooking oil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes or strips
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
8 oz. jelly, oyster or shitake mushrooms, sliced
red-eye chili pepper to taste,seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. corn starch(optional)
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
Heat 2 to 3 Tbsp. of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and onions and stir-fry until browned. Sear chicken on both sides for about three minutes(I use the sides of the skillet).(The chicken should be almost fully cooked at this point, if need to, cook for longer). Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar and mix for another minute. Add vegetables and stir-fry for a minute or two. Add the chicken broth, cover and simmer for three to four minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is fully cooked.
If you wish to thicken the sauce, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and vegetables to a plate, and add cornstarch to the sauce whisking for a minute or two until sauce is thickened. Transfer the chicken and vegetables back to the skillet to keep warm.
Serve the stir-fry over your favorite rice (I make white rice) and top with cashews.