Thai Cashew Chicken
A spicy Thai dish, similar to one I fell in love with at a Thai restaurant. This is great served over jasmine rice. Fish sauce, which is used in this recipe, can be found in any Asian market or the Asian section of most grocery stores.
A spicy Thai dish, similar to one I fell in love with at a Thai restaurant. This is great served over jasmine rice. Fish sauce, which is used in this recipe, can be found in any Asian market or the Asian section of most grocery stores.
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves - cut into
- 1 cup dry jasmine rice
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 small onion quartered then sliced
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup unsalted cashew nuts
- Carbohydrate 87.9875953598279 g
- Cholesterol 64.96 mg
- Fat 27.914265945811 g
- Fiber 6.6189656235131 g
- Protein 41.9863415832495 g
- Saturated Fat 4.86411237616359 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (694g)
- Sodium 1583.2996603663 mg
- Sugar 81.3686297363148 g
- Trans Fat 3.90933612597838 g
- Calories 735 calories
Step-by-step
- In a resealable plastic bag, mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, hot pepper sauce, garlic, and ginger. Place the chicken in the bag, seal, and marinate at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the jasmine rice and 2 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Stir in the onion, and cook about 5 minutes, until tender. Reserving the marinade mixture, place the chicken into the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes, until browned.
- Stir the reserved marinade and 3/4 cup water into the skillet, and bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Thoroughly blend in the peanut butter. Serve over the jasmine rice with a sprinkling of cashews.
Deep amber sauce coats tender chunks of poultry, mingling with the earthy crunch of toasted nuts and fragrant grains of steamed jasmine rice. Balancing salty umami, sharp heat, and rich nuttiness requires understanding how components interact under heat. Strategic management of pantry staples keeps costs down while preserving authentic profiles.
Adapting Components Without Sacrificing Depth
Fish sauce provides the foundational salinity and funk required for southeast Asian flavor profiles. Tamari serves as a direct one-to-one substitute for soy sauce if gluten restriction is necessary, though reduced-sodium varieties require extra salt adjustment. Smooth peanut butter thickens the simmering liquid while adding fat; chunky peanut butter alters the sauce texture unacceptably. Fresh ginger root yields brighter aromatic oils than powdered alternatives, but ground ginger works at a one-to-four conversion ratio if fresh is absent. Toasting raw cashew nuts in a dry skillet for three minutes before adding them ensures optimal crunch that resists softening in the sauce.
- Burning the brown sugar occurs if the sesame oil is too hot; keep the burner at medium heat during the initial onion sauté.
- Boiling the rice too rapidly evaporates moisture before the starches fully gelatinize; maintain a low simmer with a tight-fitting lid for the full 20 minutes.
- Overcrowding the skillet prevents the poultry from browning properly; cook the protein in batches if necessary.
