Chicken with Cashews

I’ve been collecting recipes on Pinterest for a couple of months, and I’ve tried a number of dishes with mixed results. Of the roughly half dozen dishes that I’ve tried so far, only three recipes are keepers: this sweet and sour chicken with vegetable fried rice that I blogged about several weeks ago and this cashew chicken from SheWearsManyHats.com.

The original recipe is served on lettuce wraps but I wanted a more substantial meal so I served the chicken with steamed white rice. I made some changes to the original recipe to suit my taste. Specifically, I doubled the amount of brown sugar in the sauce and I substituted spring onions for the yellow onion (although the next time I make this dish I would toss uncooked spring onions on top of the completed dish instead of stir frying it with the garlic because the onions wilted immediately). I also doubled the amount of stir fry sauce and I’m so glad I did because the sticky sweet and spicy sauce was fabulous. Heat wise, I give this dish a medium rating, so folks who prefer less heat may want to reduce the amount of ground red pepper in the sauce, though I think it’s perfect. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this dish (my changes are included):

1. Combine the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced chicken and cook until no longer pink in the center (about   4-5 minutes); set aside.
3. Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce to the pan; cook for a minute or two then add the stir fry sauce, cooked chicken, and cashews. Saute the mixture and stir to combine; remove from heat. Top with diced spring onions.