Happy Saturday! It’s our day off, and today was one of those lovely days where we had nothing planned. So there’s been time to potter around in the kitchen.
Chilies abound at the moment, so I’ve been trying a few Thai recipes, and thought I’d share this one with you…
Thai Cashew Chicken…with coconut rice
Coconut Rice: 2 C basmati rice
4C liquid (I use 1 can of organic coconut cream and make the rest of the liquid up with chicken broth)
Chicken: 500g chicken (we used organic chicken thighs), chopped to your preferred size
2-3 Tbsp plain flour
1/3 cup macadamia oil (if you don’t have macadamia, use another oil with a mild flavour)
Vegetables: 1 Tbsp garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 small tropea red onion, sliced length ways into wedges
5-6 Thai chilies, finely chopped
1 C raw cashews
1 C capsicums, julienned
1 C carrots, julienned
2 shallots, finely sliced
Sauce: 2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Dash of salt
Dash of honey
1 C chicken broth/stock
2 Tbsp cornflour
Method:
Get your rice going first. I put the rice and liquid in the saucepan and cook, absorption method, with the lid on. Just keep an eye on the rice to make sure the heat is shut off when the liquid gets low.
Mix your sauce ingredients in a jar and set aside.
Pour you oil into a wok or large frypan and heat. While that is heating, toss your chopped chicken in the flour to coat.
Fry the raw cashews until they start to brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Now add your floured chicken and the chili to the hot oil in the pan and fry until golden and delicious. Remove the chicken from the oil and set aside.
To that same oil, add all your veg except the shallots and fry until the onion is translucent.
Add your sauce and while that cooks through, get your cornflour and mix with a little water and add this to the pan to thicken the sauce.
Your chicken and cashews can now get back in the pan. Stir until the sauce has coated everything and then add your shallots for just a minute or two of cooking before you serve.
I liked the heat level of this combo. It was mild enough that flavours other than heat could be enjoyed, but hot enough to have a kick to it 🙂 If you love heat and don’t have children to accommodate, you might like to add more chili.