Creamy Cashew Chicken

This recipe is gluten free and low in lactose.

This is a delicious quick make if you're in a rush. I didn't have some of the sauces traditional cashew chicken calls for, so I improvised. I made it from scratch and tossed a few things together that I thought would be similar. It was deemed more delicious than the generic cashew chicken with pre-made sauces! If you're a fan of this dish, try my version and see if you agree.

Yield: 2 servings

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (or whatever you deem 2 servings to be)

2 handfuls cashews - note that I have ridiculously small hands

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons vinegar (I used apple cider because it's my fav, but you can use rice vinegar instead)

2 teaspoons gluten-free soya sauce

1 teaspoon Worcester sauce 

½ teaspoon paprika

1 cup yogurt

1¼ cups white rice 

3 green onion stalks

Olive oil for frying as well as for rice lube during boiling

A little sprinkle of salt to taste for the sauce, and ¾ teaspoon salt for the rice

Mix chicken, sugar, vinegar, soya sauce, Worcester sauce, salt (to taste), paprika and yogurt in a bowl. Leave to marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and toss in garlic cloves. Cook until the garlic starts to brown.

Meanwhile (this step is optional) break the cashews into tiny pieces. If you prefer whole, that's okay too! I put them in a bag and smashed them with a hammer. Fry the cashews with the garlic for 5-10 minutes, or until the cashews start to darken.

Add the chicken mixture. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

After you add the chicken, you'll want to start the rice. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add the salt and a little bit of oil along with the rice. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to low and cover, stirring sparingly, for about 10 minutes. 

Now, when my chicken finished, I didn't like the amount of sauce. I'm a sauce lover, and this was inadequate sauce territory. So I mixed up another batch of the sauce ingredients above, and added it to the chicken and cooked it a bit longer. However, that's just me being a sauce freak, so what you have might be fine. Either way, add a bit of corn starch (or any kind of edible starch) to the sauce and thicken it to your liking. 

While your rice and chicken is cooling, chop up the green onions. Use it to garnish if you want to make it look pretty, or just mix it in with the chicken and rice if aesthetics isn't on the list of things you care about today. 

Enjoy!

Post by McKayla