Spicy Cashew Chicken

I love going out to eat as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's nice to have restaurant-quality food at home. I love cashew chicken, so when I ran across this recipe I had to give it a try. It was sooo good, almost as good as eating out (except I had to make it and then do the dishes!) and I will be keeping this one in rotation for the fam. Even the kids liked it (note: I did not add as much "kick" to it as my husband would have liked to make it kid friendly).

Spicy Cashew Chicken

2 chicken breasts, cubed bite-sized
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup oil (I used vegetable oil)
½-1 tsp red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you want it
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup cashews, unsalted
toasted sesame seeds

sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
1½ tbsp cornstarch
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar

Combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce with chicken cut into bite-sized pieces in medium sized bowl. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, 4 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp vinegar. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic.

Drain chicken in strainer to get the marinade off as much a possible. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add red pepper flakes to oil,stir a couple times. Add chicken all at once, let sit for a minute or two till golden,then turn chicken. Add garlic to chicken. Cook chicken till golden on all sides and cooked through. drain oil if there is still an excessive amount. Add cashews. Move wok off hot stove and immediately pour in sauce while constantly turning chicken over to cover everything in sauce. Sauce should thicken quite a bit, if you want it thicker put it back on medium heat for about 5-10 seconds, and stir, stir, stir (seriously, this thickens really fast if you put it back on the heat so watch it!). To serve, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and add sliced green onions. Serve over Rice.

recipe courtesy keyingredient.com