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–+ servings

Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Snow Peas

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.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 6 people as part of a Chinese meal
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Velvet Chicken
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon MSG
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 egg white
Sauce
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry or sake
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon MSG
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 4 tablespoons water
Assembly
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 8 ounces snow peas
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
  • Vegetable oil for deep-frying nuts such as peanut or corn oil

Method
 

Velvet Chicken
  1. Cut the chicken into ½ inch cubes.
  2. Put the chicken in a non-reactive dish.
  3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, five spice powder and MSG. Mix well then let stand 20 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle the chicken with cornstarch and 4 teaspoons of oil. Mix well and let stand 20 minutes.
  6. 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
  1. Combine all sauce ingredients, stir well and reserve.
Assembly
  1. Deep fry the nuts until golden. Once they start to color, they will cook rapidly. Careful attention is required to avoid burning them.
  2. When golden, remove the nuts from the oil and spread them on a paper towel to drain.
  3. Cut the tips off the snow peas.
  4. 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.)
  5. Transfer the cooked snow peas to a plate to cool.
  6. 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.
  7. Add the chicken and stir-fry over high heat until just cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes.
  8. Stir the sauce mixture to combine and add it to the chicken.
  9. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly, approximately 1 minute.
  10. Stir in the cooked cashews and snow peas.
  11. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
  12. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

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