Cashew Chicken

What do I do when there's almost 2 feet of snow on the ground ?

Other than spend my time in the kitchen cooking Cashew Chicken?

I watch my dogs play in the snow, of course.  Notice how I didn't say play together. 

Gus runs, Clyde tries to keep up until he gives up.

He then decides to lie down on the warm, cozy bed of snow. And occupy himself with the old standby, a stick to chew on.  

Until I chime in and say, "Clyde!  That's soooo not good for you!"

"Hmmph??  You wanna try and catch me so that you can take it away from me?"

"Didn't think so, hehe."

Today's recipe, Cashew Chicken, is really fast and easy to make.  Like, 15 minutes from start to finish fast.

Unless you're cooking it with kids, that is, which is what I did last night when we taped an episode of the cooking show.  In that case, it was fun and easy.  But I'll save that post for another day.

Today's Playlist

• "Should I Stay Or Should I Go"...The Clash
• "For Reasons Unknown"...The Killers
• "Basket Case"...Green Day
• "Stop Breaking Down"...The White Stripes
• "Hate To Say I Told You So"...The Hives
• "Highway To Hell"...AC/DC
• "Two Princes"...Spin Doctors

Cashew Chicken (6 servings)

Printable Recipe

• 1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenderloins, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cashews

add-ins (optional): diced celery, chopped pineapple, diced scallions

Gather your ingredients.  The celery and pineapple are missing from this picture because they were an afterthought.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat.  I used an electric skillet and set it to 300 degrees.

If you haven't already prepped your chicken, cut it into bite-sized chunks.  I probably cut each tenderloin into 6 or 7 pieces.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large ziploc bag.

Put the chicken into the bag.  Zip it closed, and shake to coat the chicken with the flour.

When the oil in the skillet is sizzling hot, arrange the chicken in a single layer.  Allow the chicken to brown without disruption.  This means no stirring or shaking!  Give it about 3 or 4 minutes.  You'll know when it's ready because the chicken will start to turn opaque around the edges.

While you're waiting for the chicken to cook, combine the sauce ingredients.  Place the soy sauce and ketchup into a small bowl.

Add the sesame oil.

Crush the garlic directly into the bowl.

Add the brown sugar.

And the ground ginger.

Whisk to combine.

Your chicken should be turning opaque around the edges now.  If so, it's time to brown the other side.

I've found that the easiest (and by that I mean least-time consuming!) way to flip all of these little pieces of chicken over is to stir them around with a spatula.  Most of them will end up face-up.  Or is it face-down?

At any rate, stir them and hope that a good amount of them flip over.  Then use tongs to flip the remaining ones.

Give them about 2 minutes to brown on the other side.

After they've browned on the other side, reduce the heat to medium/low and pour the sauce over them.  Now would be the time to add in the chopped celery/pineapple/scallions, if desired.

And the cashews, of course.

Simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.

 It's ready when the sauce has thickened and the chicken is completely cooked.


Serve it over rice.  White rice or brown rice, your choice!

 Enjoy!