Sweet Spicy Cashew Chicken

My spouse is a little bit sick this week. As I feel sorry for him, I wanted to make a dish with one of his favorite ingredients: cashews. Actually, when he knows there are cashews in our pantry, he usually jumps on them and devores them.

I set my mind to adapt this Sweet Spicy Cashew Chicken recipe. This meal was easy to make and it turned out really good! It was hot and spicy which were the flavors I was looking for. The cashews also gave a great nutty taste to this dish. My spouse was quite happy with this dish :).

However, I have one advice for you if you want to make this recipe. I believe it is important to adjust the seasoning of the sauce before adding it with the chicken and after the chicken is cooked. I found that, when the chicken was cooked, my sauce had lost some of its hotness and I added a little bit more of tabasco.


Ingredients

***For the Sauce*** 125 mL ketchup
20 mL soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
30 mL worcestershire sauce
45 mL sugar
7.5 mL sesame oil
cayenne pepper to taste (about 5 mL to 15 mL)
dashes of tabasco
125 mL water or chicken broth

***For the Rest***
30 mL cornstarch
2.5 mL sugar
1 pound and a half chicken breast, cut into cubes
60 mL oil
30 mL to 45 mL fresh ginger, finely chopped
15 mL garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 pepper; seeded and sliced
250 mL mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, cut into diagonal
250 mL edamame
250 mL cashews
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions
***For the Sauce***
1. Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Set aside.

***For the Rest***
1. Mix the cornstarch, the sugar and the salt in a large resealable bag.
2. Add the chicken, seal the bag and shake it until the chicken is well coated.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
4. Add the chicken, the onion, the garlic and the ginger and cook for one minute.
5. Add the pepper, the mushrooms and the carrot and cook until tender.
6. Add the sauce and the edamame and bring to a boil.
7. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked (add a little bit of cornstarch if the sauce does not thicken enough).
8. Add the cashews and adjust seasoning.
9. Serve over rice or vermicelli rice pasta.

Makes 4 to 6 portions.