Better-than-takeout cashew chicken in the comfort of your own home! Chicken, red pepper and broccoli are glazed with a shimmering blend of hoisin sauce and sesame oil, and then topped with crunchy, salty, roasted cashews. The dish is moist, chewy, crunchy, and crisp. It's also, colorful, flavorful, gluten-free, and ready in less than 20 minutes.
To make the sauce for this recipe, we simply jazz up a bottled Asian sauce. And I have no problem with that. We start with hoisin sauce, a sweet and tangy blend of fermented soy, red chilies, vinegar, and seasonings. Then we add sesame oil for nuttiness, and water to create a thinner sauce that will spread out and glaze every inch of the chicken and vegetables. So that's three ingredients (and one of them is water) and you have your sauce! And the chicken? It's precooked, so you can use up leftover chicken from a previous meal, or buy cooked chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
This dish is also MUCH healthier than restaurant cashew chicken. Note that there's not ANY oil in the dish... restaurant versions are typically dripping with the stuff.
I served the chicken, vegetables and sauce over rice - actually jasmine rice - which was perfect. The slightly floral rice was the perfect partner for the savory sauce. And, I took a shortcut and used a 90-second, microwavable pouch of jasmine rice! Easy and ready in 1.5 minutes!
2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken from a previous meal
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cooked rice for serving, optional (I used jasmine)
1/2 cup dry roasted cashews
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Blanch the broccoli in a large pot of boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, whisk together the hoisin sauce, water and sesame oil. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken, bell pepper and broccoli and stir to combine. Simmer for 2 minutes to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice (if using) and top with cashews and green onions.
Serves 4
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