This recipe is an adaptation of one that we found on the web. We felt that the original recipe didn't taste strongly enough of cashew, and was too dry (not enough sauce).

It works well with chicken or turkey, but not with more strongly flavoured meats.

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

• About 300 grams of chicken (the original recipe specified thigh, but it works just as well with breast) cut into ½ inch chunks;
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil;
• ½ a cup of cashews;
• ¼ a cup of ground cashews (just grind up cashews in a blender) - this thickens the sauce and adds a lot of cashew taste;
• 3 spring onions (green onions), chopped into ½ inch pieces;
• 1 red onion, chopped into ½ inch chunks;
• 1 small to medium sized green bell pepper (capsicum), cut into ½ inch chunks;
• 1 heaped teaspoon of sambal oelek (you can use a fresh chili, in which case chop it very finely and fry it for a couple of minutes before adding the chicken);
• 2 tablespoons of soy ketchup (sweet soy sauce, a.k.a. ketchup manis);
• ½ a teaspoon of ground ginger;
• 1 tablespoon of minced (or finely chopped) garlic;
• 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar (you can use ordinary wine vinegar instead, if you want);
• Some liquid (about 3 tablespoons) - plum wine, white wine, beer, or even water;
• sesame seeds, for garnish.

Method:

1. In a wok, gently toast the cashews for about 8 minutes, until they start to brown;
2. Set the toasted cashews aside;
3. Increase the heat under the wok and add the sesame oil;
4. When the oil is hot, add the chicken;
5. Cook the chicken until it is nearly cooked through, stirring often;
6. Add the capsicum, red onions, spring onions, garlic, sambal and ginger, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continuously;
7. Add the soy ketchup, vinegar, toasted cashews ground cashews and liquid, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously;
8. If the sauce is too runny, add more ground cashews and/or soy ketchup; if it is too dry, add more liquid;
9. Serve on saffron rice, with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.