Chicken with Cashew Nuts

As promised, here is another recipe from the Girl's Night feast of a few weeks ago. I know that these posts are a little bit of a deviation from my usual cakes and bakes, however I really wanted to share how easy and delicious homemade Chinese food really can be, and give you a selection of recipes that do not need a cupboard full of exotic, hard to find ingredients.

Of the main courses served last Saturday, this Chicken and Cashew dish is one of my absolute favourites, and the one that was eaten up the quickest. This is a really quick and easy dish, and on it's own would make a really good mid-week meal served with fluffy rice. (You'll have to forgive some of the photography on these posts, people were already eating before I had chance to get the camera out!)

Here's how I made it...

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons Cornflour

- 500 ml Chicken Stock

- 3 tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce

- 1 teaspoon crushed Ginger, or 1/2 an inch grated

- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or similar hot chilli sauce)

- 2 large Chicken Breasts, diced

- 1/2 an Onion, diced

- 1 large Green Pepper, chopped

- 150 grams Cashew Nuts

- 100 grams Water Chestnuts (optional)

Step One: Make the Sauce

In a saucepan, heat the chicken stock. Add the cornflour, and mix well making sure that all the cornflour has been absorbed by the stock, and there are no lumps. Add the soy sauce, ginger, and tabasco sauce, and set aside. Tip: you can even make the sauce element ahead of time, leave it to cool, and put in a sealed container in the fridge, then it is ready to add to the chicken and vegetables whenever you need it! I found this useful for the feast night, as I made three main dishes at the same time, so having the sauces pre-made made the whole process much easier.

Step Two: Cook the Meat

In a wok, or a large frying pan, heat a little cooking oil, then fry the diced chicken breasts until slightly golden on the outside, and cooked all the way through. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

Step Three: Assemble the Dish

Add the onion and pepper to the wok, and lightly fry for 2-3 minutes until they start to colour. Add the cashew nuts and the water chestnuts (optional) and cook for a further minute. Finally, add the chicken and the sauce, and stir well. Cook for a minute longer, or until the sauce has warmed through if you have pre-made it, then serve.