Cashew Chicken

Who came up with the idea to mix cashews and chicken?  Did that person just happen to have cashews lying about because he or she was snacking earlier and thought, “You know…  I bet this would go great with my chicken stir-fry!”  Well, whoever that person was they’re amazing because cashew chicken is delicious!

Whenever I’m at home, in the office, or any other out and about place, I’m more often than not thinking about food.  What should I make for dinner?  Do I have that ingredient at home?  Can I make this dish without having to make an extra stop on the way home?  I think it’s fun!  I am waiting for the day when I’m at a friend’s house and they say, “I’m hungry.” and with their permission I can pop into their kitchen and whip something up.  I like to have a wide variety of recipes in my brain.

Anyhoo…  cashew chicken.  You see this in Chinese themed restaurants all the time.  I say “Chinese themed” because really…  Pu Pu Platter?  Fortune Cookies?  They don’t really have those there do they?  I think it’s just to please us Americans and look fancy.  The recipe below is for my Paleo Party People.  If you don’t have some of the ingredients, then you can substitute with something similar.  Honey > Sugar, Tamari > Soy Sauce, etc.  I don’t measure when I cook so everything below is guesstimates.  Please add a little of the seasoning at a time and after you’ve tasted the dish you can add more to your heart’s content.

CASHEW CHICKEN

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast or even a mixture of both!  Cut into 1 – 2 inch cubes.
1/4 cup almond flour
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Red and 1 Green Bell Pepper (Seeded and chopped)

1 Onion (Cut in 1/8’s)

2-3 Tbsp EVOO or Coconut oil (Coconut oil was used in the pics below)
1/4 cup Tamari
2 Tbsp White vinegar
1 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (PaleoJoe and I love garlic, so you can use 1-2 cloves if you like)
1/2 to 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (You can also use powdered ginger if you do not have fresh)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add bell peppers and onions and cook for 5-7 minutes.

2.  Season your chicken with salt and pepper.  Toss chicken pieces in the almond flour.

3.  Push the veggies to the side and add chicken to skillet.

4.  Let cook for 5 minutes or so.  You can prep the sauce while the chicken is cooking.

5.  In a bowl add the remaining ingredients, except the cashews, and mix.  Add to skillet.

6.  Mix chicken and veggies together so that all are coated with the sauce.

7.  Turn heat down to medium and let cook for another 5-10 minutes.  You can add the cashews at this point, or if you want them to be crunchy then wait til the chicken is done cooking.

8.  Dish complete!!  You can serve it as, or if you haven’t quite jumped on the Paleo Party Bus then serve over rice.

If you want to have more sauce then I would double the ingredients for the sauce.

 

I like to horde my cashews and eat them last.  🙂  If you’re meal prepping this, then you should know that the cashews get soft, but it is still very tasty.  The dish has been marinating in its own sauce overnight so it will be more flavorful.  ENJOY!