Thai Cashew Chicken

I have to admit, you can probably count on both hands, how many times I’ve had thai food. There is a restaurant near where I live called Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket) Thai that serves a cashew chicken dish that I absolutely adore. So, I thought I’d try my hand in making it, or something similar, at home. I found a recipe online that got rave reviews, but did have me raise an eyebrow when I saw fish & oyster sauces as two of the ingredients. I tweaked it a bit and am thrilled to report that it turned out delicious! As a vegetarian dish, this would be equally scrumptious if tofu was substituted for chicken or you just omitted the poultry and added more vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Dash black pepper
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 tsp dried pepper flakes
• 4 green onions, cut into 2″ slices
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Mix fish & oyster sauces, garlic, sugar, black pepper and cornstarch.
2. Marinade chicken in sauce for 30 minutes in fridge.
3. Heat oil over medium heat in wok or large skillet.
4. Saute the sweet onion & bell pepper for a few minutes. Drain & set aside leaving oil in skillet.
5. Saute the nuts & dried pepper flakes ’til nuts are slightly browned. Add a little more oil if necessary.
6. Drain & set aside, leaving remaining oil.
7. Increase heat to medium high  and add marinated chicken with marinade and water.
8. Cook until chicken is done (no pink in the middle). Add more water as needed for desired consistency.
9. Add sweet & green onions, bell & dried peppers and nuts to skillet. Mix and cook slightly.
10. Serve over rice.