CHICKEN & CASHEW STIR FRY

Just the thing when you stumble in from work, famished

Stir-fry Chicken with Peppers & Cashews 

Stir-fry's are so fantastic: easy on the wallet, quick, intensely satisfying.  Full of protein and high-fibre veg, they can be a low-carb meal if rice or noodles portions are kept to a minimum.

Chicken with cashew nuts is a favourite dish in Chinese restaurants; it's very easy - and much less expensive than a takeaway - to make it a favourite at home, too.

The photo shows bell peppers which provide a crisp contrast to the succulent chicken and the crunchy nuts.  But any veg will do...or even none at all if the fridge is bare.

The usual marinating time is 20 mins but if you're in a rush, 10 will do.

Cost: £1.50-ish
Feeds: 1 generously

Ingred:
   a handful of raw cashews

   1 chicken breast
   1 bell pepper
   groundnut oil
   water 

   small clove garlic, grated
   inch of peeled ginger, grated
    
Marinade:
   1 tbsp reduced-salt soy sauce
   2 tbsp sherry

Method:

       Equipment: large lidded frying pan or wok

1. Toast cashews in med oven 5-7 mins or until brown; watch, they burn easily; set aside
2. Cut chicken breast in generous bite-sized pieces
3. Mix marinade ingred in flat bowl; add chicken, stirring to coat all sides; leave ideally 20 mins (time for a drink!) 
4. Top & tail pepper, remove seeds & membranes and cut in bite sized pieces
5. When ready to cook, set frying pan over high heat; when pan is smoking hot, spray generously with oil
6. Add peppers; stir-fry 2-3 mins but not till cooked through; put to one side
7. Drain chicken, reserving marinade 
8. Generously re-spray pan; add chicken in one layer; leave for a couple of mins to brown on one side
9. Stir fry for another minute or until all pink is gone; decant to a dish
10. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water to the pan, scraping at the bottom to remove any cooked-on bits
11. Add marinade; bring to a boil, cover with lid, reduce heat; bubble 5 mins
12. Add peppers & chicken; simmer 3 mins or until veg & meat is cooked to your liking
13. To thicken sauce (opt),  mix 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tsp cold water; add to pan; stir 
14. Pour into a serving dish and scatter with cashews
15. Serve with steamed rice (opt)

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.