Recently, I was asked to create more simple, easy to throw together mid-week meals, and I do love a challenge! So this Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is a great place to start, in my book! I often cook for my family if I have a bit more time in the evening, and my family are very kindly generally up for being guinea pigs for new recipes (within reason!) With barbeque season in full swing, I decided to go for a bit of a different dish, full of colourful veg and all of our key macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats), and tasty at that! Stir fries are a great way to pack in lots of veggies into a dish, and can easily be made vegetarian friendly, including in this recipe – just take out the chicken, and go with it as is, or consider an alternative protein source like tofu! The verdict was a solid ‘More please!’ from my family, so I hope you say the same when you try it!

Recipe (Serves 5)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, skinned and finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp soy sauce/tamari + a dash for later in cooking
• 1 white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 100g button mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced
• 1/2 head of broccoli florets
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds, then halved
• 50g cashews
• 5 chicken breasts

Stir Fry Sauce

Chicken, Vegetables & Cashews cooking away!

Method

1. First, make your stir fry sauce by combing 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp honey, 4 tbsp soy sauce/tamari, chili powder, chopped ginger and minced garlic in a small bowl. Mix these together with a spoon and set the bowl aside.
2. Next prep your veg by chopping each and setting aside in a bowl.
3. Dice up the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces.
4. Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a stir fry pan, then add the chicken, and cook on a medium heat until the chicken is a little browned.
5. Next, add the vegetables to the pan. It’s best to add a third of the veg volume at a time, mixing each chunk in with the chicken before adding the next.
6. When all the ingredients are in the pan, cook for another 3-4 minutes, and then add the sauce.
7. Mix the sauce into the chicken and vegetables, and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add another tablespoon of soy sauce, and cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Finally, add the cashews, and stir these in.
9. If you’re having this dish with rice, set a pot of water on the hob and heat until boiling while you’re cooking the sauce into the stir fry, and cook the rice according to your package instructions.
10. When your rice is ready, turn the heat off the stir fry, dish out the rice, and you’re good to go! We love having this with brown or wholegrain rice in my house!

Enjoy guys! A super simple mid-week dinner you can whip up for you and your family, friends – you can even save the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch if you want! Tag me if you try it out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂 x