Walnuts and either broccoli or green beans can be used instead of cashews and snow peas. The chicken can be marinated several hours in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. If you wish, you can reduce or eliminate the MSG.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, five spice powder and MSG. Mix well then let stand 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the chicken with cornstarch and 4 teaspoons of oil. Mix well and let stand 20 minutes.
Fold the egg white into the chicken. Let stand 30 minutes. If not using immediately, the chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for several hours at this point.
Sauce
Combine all sauce ingredients, stir well and reserve.
Assembly
Deep fry the nuts until golden. Once they start to color, they will cook rapidly. Careful attention is required to avoid burning them.
When golden, remove the nuts from the oil and spread them on a paper towel to drain.
Cut the tips off the snow peas.
Using a large non-stick skillet, stir-fry the snow peas in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat for about 30 seconds, until bright green. (You can use some of the oil used to fry the nuts if you wish.)
Transfer the cooked snow peas to a plate to cool.
In the same non-stick skillet, stir-fry the garlic and ginger over high heat, until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds, adding a few tablespoons more oil if needed.
Add the chicken and stir-fry over high heat until just cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes.
Stir the sauce mixture to combine and add it to the chicken.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly, approximately 1 minute.
Stir in the cooked cashews and snow peas.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.