Recipe: Sour Lightning Cashew Chicken (Patreon)

For my first recipe I'm doing something not actually Japanese. If anything it's more Chinese. But I did spend many, many years studying Chinese martial arts, the Chinese language, and finally visiting the country for awhile, so I think it's okay to pass along this recipe that I found (not in China, but) somewhere and tweaked and tweaked.

Also, since it's the sauce that makes this dish so yummy, you can change the veggies and meat anyway you'd like and of course making it all veggie is super good, too. 

Here we go!

Ingredients:

3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs all cut into little pieces

potato starch (or cornstarch), enough to coat the chicken chunks

salt and pepper for sprinkling all over chicken (kosher salt and freshly ground pepper are always the best

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 head of broccoli, all chopped up

1 onion, all chopped up (I used a some long onions in the photos)

1/2 cup snow peas (I love snow peas, didn't have them, so not in photo)

1 red (or yellow or green) bellpepper (I did both yellow and red in this photo)

Lotsa garlic, smashed and chopped finely

1/2 cup dry roasted cashews (since they're so expensive here, I just used what I could afford)

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar (sometimes I add more because I like sour)

1-2 (or more) tablespoons Sriracha

 Okay. Here we go with pictures!

Put the chicken in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper and potato or corn starch and coat well. Let sit. 

Cut up all veggies.

In a small bowl (or fancy glass) stir together the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, and sriracha. Also, chop up that garlic and set this aside. 

Put the olive oil and sesame oil in a fry pan and turn to medium heat. Toss in the chicken and cook until lightly browned.

Then add the garlic and veggies. 

Nice big mound. Cook until veggies are mostly cooked. 

Then stir in cashews and the special sauce. Coat well. The sauce should thicken a little because of the potato/corn starch. 

Taste. You might need to add some more salt and pepper. I like to add the chicken consomme powder they have here instead of salt. 

Cook until done. Yum! 

Serve over rice. But I served over a bed of cabbage once and with some homemade tortillas another time. 

Extra photos: