Dish of Thai Cashew Chicken
(click to enlarge)

Chicken with Cashews & Chilis


Thailand
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 main
**
35 min
Prep		 This easy to make dish is very popular in California in both Thai and Chinese versions. This recipe is Thai in the Chinese style. Hint: the cashews get soggy so serve as soon as you can after they are stirred in.




12
8
4
6
12
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1
1
1/3
1
1
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3
3
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oz
cl

oz

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T
T
c
T
T
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oz
T
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Chicken meat
Garlic
Scallions
Onion
Red Chili dry (1)
--Sauce
Dried Shrimp (2)
Tamarind paste (3)  
Stock
Oyster Sauce (4)
Fish Sauce (5)
----------
Cashews Roasted
Oil
-- Garnish
Cilantro sprigs
Prep   -   (20 min)
  1. If CASHEWS are raw, dry fry them over moderate heat stirring until they taste roasted and are brown in spots.
  2. Stem CHILIS (Japones usually have no stems).
  3. Cut CHICKEN into bitesize pieces about 1/4 inch thick.
  4. Crush GARLIC and chop small.
  5. Peel ONION, and slice lengthwise 1/4 inch wide. Cut SCALLIONS into 1-1/2 inch lengths and split bulb ends. Mix.
  6. Grind Dried Shrimp in your spice grinder. Prepare Tamarind Paste if using block form. Mix all Sauce items.
Run   -   (15 min)
  1. In a wok or spacious sauté pan heat Oil and fry Chilis until they darken noticeably but are not blackened (a few spots are OK). Remove from oil quickly and drain.
  2. Crumble 2 of the Chilis into the Sauce mix.
  3. Fry Garlic until just golden, then stir in the Chicken. Fry stirring until chicken is opaque.
  4. Stir in Onion and Scallions and fry stirring until well distributed.
  5. Stir in Stock mix, bring quickly to a boil. Check onions, they should be crisp tender.
  6. Stir in the Chilis and Cashews. Heat quickly stirring, then take off the heat.
  7. Garnish with Cilantro springs and serve immediately, with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice.
NOTES:

  1. Chilis:

      These should be the common dried Japones, which are not excessively hot. For details see our Thai Chilis page.

  2. Shrimp, Dried:

      These can be found in markets serving Southeast Asia, South American, Mexican and African communities. Measure should be whole for very small ones and lightly broken up for large ones. For details see our Dried Shrimp page.

  3. Tamarind:

      If your Tamarind is concentrate in a jar, use 1 T, or if it's block use about 1 T, soak and strain. If you don't have tamarind use 2 t lemon juice - not the same, but it's something. For details see our Tamarind page.

  4. Oyster Sauce:

      A standard Chinese sauce also used in Southeast Asia for dishes in the Chinese style. My current favorite is Megachef, but Lee Kum Kee Premium brand is also very good - the bottle looks very Chinese, but it's made in Los Angeles. Yes, these are more expensive than some, but there's reasons for that (much higher oyster content, unleaded and no melamine). For details see our Oyster Sauce page.

  5. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisine as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  6. Method:

      The pattern recipe calls for 1 T Chili Tamarind Paste. My version here presumes you don't have that on hand and fakes it up with 2 chilis, tamarind paste and dried shrimp. If you have it, you can substitute it for those items in the sauce.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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