Stir fry chicken is a healthy way to eat and the more you stir fry, the
faster and more efficient you get at it. The trick to good stir fry is
to use very high heat, only cook a little food at a time (too much
reduces the heat and the exposure of heat to the food) and keep stirring
the food so it cooks fast. Then set it aside and put more food in the
skillet or wok until everything is cooked. Some woks allow you to push
the food up on a ledge, or are big enough that you can push the food to
the edges and add more in the middle.
Stir Fry Chicken With Cashews
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup of snow pea pods
1/2 cup chopped or sliced onion
2 red bell peppers, cleaned and sliced (can substitute any color bell
pepper)
10 to 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced (can buy and use pre-sliced if
available)
1 cup cashews (you can also use peanuts if you like)
2 teaspoons of garlic powder (use more if you like garlic)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth (salt free is best for this recipe)
3 tablespoons teriyaki (can use soy sauce)
To make it easy, in a large bowl mix together the snow pea pods, the
onions, the bell pepper, the mushrooms and the cashews. This way they
will be ready to go when you add them to the skillet or wok.
Cut the chicken breasts into bite size pieces or finger sized strips.
This is more easily done when the breasts are still a little bit frozen.
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet or a wok. Use an oil that can
handle high heat well, like peanut oil, canola oil or safflower oil. Do
not use olive oil as its chemical composition breaks down and it becomes
unhealthy. Do not use butter because it burns and tastes nasty.
Depending on the size of your skillet or wok, you may not want to put
all 3 tablespoons of oil in at the same time. The idea here is to use
the oil for lubrication and to slightly coat the food – not cover it up
like in frying. You can add more oil as you need it.
To the very hot oil, just below the point of smoking, add some of the
snow pea pods, the onions, the bell pepper, mushrooms and cashews.
Remember, you don’t want them piled up, just a layer of them.
Stir them around and keep them moving over the heat. Once the onions
become translucent and the mushrooms look wilted, you can remove them
and add more. Once all the vegetables are all cooked, remove them and
set them aside in a warm oven.
Now, put the pieces of chicken in the oil (just a little at a time if
you have to) and stir fry them the same way you did the vegetables. The
chicken will be done when it turns white, but don’t overcook it because
we will need to cook it with the sauce.
In a bowl, mix the teriyaki sauce, the cornstarch, and the chicken
broth. Put all the other ingredients back in the skillet or wok and pour
this mixture over them a little at a time to keep the heat high. Cook it
for 4-6 minutes and server over white rice.
