Chicken and cashews are served in many Asian countries, but they are especially popular with Chinese diners in the United States.When served, the chicken and cashew pieces are coated with sauce, but they are not floating in it as in gravy. This makes the Thai version lighter and fresher. Also, the Thai version, which we will be making, has a much more ascetic set of products. The only vegetables are yellow or white and green onions. There's no need to bother with chicken broth for the sauce. Every lover of oriental cuisine has all the ingredients for it at home.
500gchicken thighs (skinned, boneless, I had skinless)
3tbsp.teriyaki sauce
3tbsp.soy sauce
4tbsp.dark soy sauce
~300mlof neutral oil
80gcashew nuts
1onion(medium size)
1tbsp.sugar
pinch of roasted chili powder (optional, but desired)
2-3stalks of green onions
Instructions
Peel the onion, cut in half and slice into thin half rings, about 1/2 cm (1/4 inches)thick.Rinse the green onions, and slice at an angle. Set aside.
Slice chicken thighs into cubes about 2 cm (3/4 inches)apart. Place in a large bowl.Pour teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and dark soy sauce into the bowl with the chicken, saving about 1 tbsp. for later use. Stir and leave to marinate for 15-20 minutes.After 20 minutes, transfer the chicken to a sieve or skimmer, rub slightly over a bowl, and then leave for 5-10 minutes to let the excess marinade drain off.
Heat a dry wok over high heat, until smoking.Pour in the vegetable oil, so that it is a couple of inches deep. Heat the oil until shimmering.Add the cashews to the wok. Stirring constantly, roast cashews until golden brown, about 2 minutes. With a slotted skimmer, remove the nuts, letting the excess oil drain off. Place on paper towels and set aside.Drain the oil, leaving about 3 tbsp. in the wok. Save the oil for later use.
Heat the wok with the oil over high heat. Add half the chicken and half the onion. Fry, stirring constantly for 1 minute or so. Transfer to a bowl.Fry the rest of the chicken and onions in the same way. But first, make sure there are no small particles of food left in the wok from the last batch, or they will burn and give bitterness.
When the second batch of chicken is ready - return the chicken from the first batch to the wok and stirring frequently warm them together for 15-20 seconds.Add the sugar, cashews and the reserved 1 tbsp of soy sauce to the wok. Stirring constantly, cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes.Add a pinch of roasted chili powder and half the green onions (save half for serving), stir everything again and remove from heat.
Serve at once, with steamed rice as a side dish. Don't forget to garnish with the remaining green onions.