My cashew chicken is packed with crunchy vegetables and glazed with a slightly salty, sweet, and spicy sauce. Its a one pot meal. It takes some prep work, but the actually cooking time is super fast. Its the perfect meal to prepare for guests. You can prep ahead, then all your guests can sip wine and watch you perform . When my kids were little, this was my son's Christopher's most requested meals. I would serve it over white rice. Now that my husband and I are always trying to lose weight we skip the rice. With or without rice, its a much more colorful and healthy alternative to Chinese take out.
I love to use coconut oil as much as I can. Its such a healthy oil, but it does have a coconut taste, so in this recipe its perfect. If you do not have any, than use olive oil or any oil you have. I like to buy a bag of cashews from Whole Foods and then throw the bag in the freezer until I need them again. If I put them in my pantry, they will go bad before I can use them again. Try to buy organic veggies if you can!
Stand the red pepper up, and cut down 4 sides of the pepper. Discard the core. I only use half the red pepper in this recipe. If you love red pepper than you can use the whole pepper. I just feel a little bit of pepper goes a long way.
Cut your sections in half and then cut thin slivers, as thin as you can.
Peel the carrots, then cut into about 2"-3" pieces. Then cut the pieces in half so they lay flat on the cutting board. Then cut into matchsticks.
You need 2-3 heads of broccoli, about 4 cups, cut into bite size pieces.
Did you know that jicama is one of the few very low calorie root vegetables. It is one of the finest sources of dietary fiber. It also contains important minerals like magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese. To prep the jicama cut the top and bottom off the jicama. Then cut all the sides off. I know there is waste but it is very difficult to peel a jicama. And this way you have a cube to easier make your matchsticks. My husband, who is from Mexico cringes when he sees me cut the jicama this way. He will take forever peeling it and not wasting one ounce of jicama. I am a more practical cook. If you can not find jicama then buy a can of sliced water chestnuts in the Asian isle of your grocery store.
Trim the extra peeling off. Then cut into thin slices. Then stack 2 slices at a time and cut into matchsticks.
In this recipe I like to cut the green onions on the diagonal. It simply looks cool to me this way. Save a few green slices to garnish your dish at the end.
I prefer chicken breast tenders over chicken breasts since they already come in little tender strips. But you could substitute chicken breasts if your prefer. I have to admit I do not like cutting up chicken...its so slimy! Cut your chicken last since it will contaminate your cutting board.
Since this is a very quick cooking dish you must measure and prep before you begin cooking. Here are all my veggies, my cashews measured out, my garlic, and a few green onions in the front saved for my garnish.
The whole cooking process is so quick, its basically a stir fry, so you need to have everything ready to go before you begin cooking. In a small bowl set aside 3/4 cup chicken broth. Pull out your measuring spoon and corn starch and set aside. If you mix it together ahead of time the corn starch will turn into a glob in your bowl. The corn starch will create the glaze that we crave.
In another bowl combine your teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and honey and mix to combine. Now the hard part is done!
You want your chicken to get some color, which is why when you first place it in the hot pan you do not move or turn it for a few minutes. My camera lens was covered in steam when I shot this photo...looks a little mystical.
Cashew Chicken with vegetables is now ready for its closeup.
CASHEW CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES RECIPE
Serves 4 people
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
ingredients
- red pepper, use 1/2 of pepper, cut into thin slices
- 3 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
- 2-3 broccoli heads cut into bite size pieces, about 4 cups
- 1 jicama, cut into thin matchsticks (you can substitute a can of sliced water chestnuts)
- 1 bunch green onions, cut into diagonal slices
- 2 lbs chicken breast tenders, or 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup roasted and salted cashews
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup chicken broth, or water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Sriracha sauce, as many squirts as you can handle
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or olive oil
preparation
- Cut your red pepper into thin slices, I only use half the pepper.
- Peel your carrots, cut into 2"- 3" chunks, then slice the chunks down the middle so they lay flat on the cutting board. Now cut into matchsticks.
- Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces.
- Cut the top and bottom off the jicama. Then cut down all four sides till you have a square. Then cut into slices. Stack 2 slices at a time and then cut into matchsticks.
- Cut the green onions on the diagonal. Save some of the greener part of the green onion for the garnish.
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Measure out your cashews and set aside.
- Mince your garlic.
- Measure out 3/4 cup of chicken broth and set aside, and pull out your cornstarch and measuring spoons.
- Combine your soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and honey in a small bowl.
- Place a large sauté pan on high heat. You will keep the heat on high the entire 11 minutes.
- Let pan heat up for a few minutes, you want the pan really hot.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirl around the oil and then place the chicken in. Do not dump the chicken in, scatter it around the pan. Now is the time to salt and pepper the chicken. Set your stopwatch on your phone. Do not stir chicken, let it sit for 3 minutes, so the chicken can get a little brown. After 3 minutes stir the chicken, let it cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the carrots and pepper, cook one more minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the broccoli and garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Pour the soy sauce mixture in. Cook for 3 more minutes while constantly stirring.
- Add the jicama, cashews, and green onions, and stir.
- Mix the cornstarch into chicken broth till dissolved, and add to the pan, stir and cook 1 more minute. ( 11 minutes total cooking time) Add srirachi to taste.
- Garnish with the remaining green onions.