When growing up in San Francisco there was not a more festive holiday than Chinese New Year. The sidewalks of Market Street would be lined with thousands of people on a usual cold, damp and foggy evening in February to watch the colorful and loud parade. And then there was the star of the parade. The flowing dragon who was both lead and followed by dancers tossing firecrackers to ward off any evil spells. Now, as an adult and away from San Francisco, I still like to celebrate Chinese New Year with the difference being, I do it with food!
Have you ever gone to a Chinese restaurant and ordered Cashew Chicken. It's a favorite of some of the editors here at the Examiner. So we're going through the archives of Chef Larry Edwards and we see his version of Cashew Chicken. Then we looked at the picture. Wow, our's didn't look like his.
Ingredients needed to make Cantonese Cashew Chicken (serves 4):
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. rice wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 Tbs. cornstarch
- 1 pound chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cubed
- 2 Tbs. peanut oil
- 2 cups chopped bok choy
- ¼ cup water
- 12 snow peas
- 12 mushrooms, halved
- 1 cup bamboo shoots, rinsed
- ¼ cup chicken stock
Steps:
- In a small bowl whisk together the salt, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine and 1 ½ tsp. cornstarch.
- Place the chicken in a medium bowl. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature.
- In a medium sauté pan or skillet heat the oil over medium heat and add the chicken and stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Into the sauté pan add the bok choy and ¼ cup water and cook 2 minutes. Add the snow peas, mushrooms and bamboo shots and cook 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk together the stock, marinade and remaining cornstarch until the cornstarch has dissolved. Stir into the sauté pan to combine.
- Add the chicken and stir until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve over steamed rice.
The new cookbook from Chef Larry Edwards is now available from Amazon.com and bookstores worldwide. One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year, "Edwardian Cooking: Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals."
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