Chicken with Cashews

When we moved to State College in 1986, it was definitely a culture shock.  In Los Angeles, we had Chinese food most every week from Panda Inn in Pasadena, the original restaurant from which the Panda Express restaurants later emerged.  Andrew (the owner's son and maitre'd) knew us so well that as soon as he recognized our voices he could recite our order.  We still miss the hot burned pork and spicy shrimp with cashew, neither of which are served any longer.  We would trek down to Monterey Park for dim sum, fresh and delicious, and drive out to Northridge for Thai (at the restaurant all of the interns and supervisors haunted when I was on internship at the Sepulveda VA).

In State College there were a few Chinese restaurants, but they were a pale shadow of the excellent and varied food we had enjoyed in California.  So I had to learn to cook Chinese.  I had brought along a basic book, called Betty Crocker's Chinese Cookbook by Leeann Chin.  Yes, Betty Crocker.  No idea why.  Let me backtrack.  When I was growing up in the East Bay, my parents would pack us in the car and take us to Chinatown in San Francisco.  We ate at a small restaurant, Nam Yuen, where the six of us could eat Cantonese food for very, very little money.  Then we'd wander through the Chinese emporiums admiring the silk pajamas with their intricate frogs, and the garish fans and chop sticks.  Of course, as children we thought everything was both exotic and beautiful.  Around the time I was a teenager, Mandarin was all the rage, but it was more expensive, so we rarely had that.  Then, when I was in college at Berkeley, a "Northern Chinese" opened, and we were introduced to Szechwan and Hunan dishes.  By the time I migrated to Los Angeles, there were a wide variety of cuisines represented.  Panda Inn carried the whole range, and did an excellent job.

When I started learning to cook Chinese from this cookbook, Mike and Tom were teenagers, and they had been huge fans of Panda Inn.  This dish, Chicken with Cashews, is a Szechwan-inspired dish, but it does not have to be too spicy...you can control the heat, which comes from a chili paste called Sambal Oelek.  I think it is Indonesian, but you can find it in a variety of cuisines, and as you can see, this brand is manufactured in Rosemead, California.

As a side note, when Steve and I were in Hong Kong in 2011, our hosts kept taking us to Cantonese restaurants, so when we got out on our own we purposely went to a Hunan restaurant, where we ordered Sichuan (alternate spelling) Shrimp.  It came in a large bowl filled with Sichuan peppercorns, with the shrimp nestled in them.  It was so hot that your tongue immediately got numb, but they were absolutely delicious!  This dish is nothing like that, so don't be afraid.

Here is the mis en place:

Another note:  I like Koon Chun Hoisin sauce, which I find at Wegman's or the Asian market.

CHICKEN WITH CASHEWS (SZECHWAN STYLE)

2 whole chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), skinless and boneless
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash of white pepper

1 large green pepper
1 medium onion
1 can (8 1/2 ounces) sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons chili paste (more or less depending on how hot you want it)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tablespoons chopped green onions

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.

 Mix egg white, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and the white pepper in a glass or plastic bowl; stir in the chicken.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Cut green pepper into 3/4-inch pieces.  Cut onion into similar sized pieces.

Mix 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon water, and 1 Tablespoon soy sauce and set aside.

Heat wok until 1 or 2 drops of water bubble and skitter when sprinkled in wok.  Add 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil; rotate wok to coat sides.  Add cashews and

stir-fry cashews until light brown, about 1 minute.  Remove cashews from wok; drain on paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt.

 Add chicken to wok; stir-fry until chicken turns white.

Remove chicken from wok.

Add onion pieces and ginger root to wok; stir-fry until ginger root is light brown.

Stir in bamboo shoots.

Add 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil; rotate wok to coat side.  Add chicken, green pepper, Hoisin sauce and chili paste; stir-fry 1 minute.

Stir in chicken broth, heat to boiling.  Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir until thickened, about 20 seconds.  Stir in cashews and green onions.

Makes about 5 servings.

The trick with stir fries is to have everything prepared, because the cooking takes only a few minutes.  I usually allow about an hour to make this dish.  It's simple, but tasty.