Stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts

 

NUTS ARE OFTEN ADDED TO THAI STIR-FRIES, just as they are to similar Chinese dishes. The important thing to remember when stir-frying is to have all the ingredients prepared and the vegetables chopped before you fire up the wok. Once you start cooking, it literally takes minutes to get the dish to the table.

 

 

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients:

 

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 500 g in total.

sea salt and blackpepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil or groundnut oil

100 g cashew nuts

1 small onion, peeled and sliced

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced into small pieces

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

3 spring onions, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 3 cm pieces

1 ½ tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

pinch of caster sugar

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced on the diagonal

 

Method:

 

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and mix with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

 

2. Heat the oil in a wok or a wide frying pan. Add the cashew nuts and stir over a medium heat until toasted and lightly golden. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside.

 

3. Add the onion and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Tip in the sliced chilli, then add the chicken pieces. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until the chicken is opaque. Add the asparagus, spring onions, fish sauce, soy sauce and a pinch of sugar and stir-fry for another minute. Finally, tip in the toasted cashew nuts. Stir well and turn off the heat.

 

4. Spoon the mixture onto a warm platter or divide between warm bowls and serve immediately, with freshly steamed basmati lemon rice.