Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

My favorite Chinese food is from the Mandarin in Bountiful, Utah.  This award-winning restaurant makes the best cashew chicken, brown rice, and lettuce wraps.  If you haven't been, I would definitely put it on your bucket list.  So yummy!  However, when the Mandarin is too far away or I just need a yummy meal, this homemade cashew chicken hits the spot.  This combination of juicy chicken, fresh vegetables, and cashews over rice only takes 25 minutes to make.  Here is how to do it:

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts - cubed
3 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 onion - sliced
1/2 red pepper - sliced
3 carrots - peeled and cut in disks
2 handfuls sugar snap peas
2 handfuls green beans
1 can of water chestnuts - sliced
1 head of broccoli
1 handful of cashews
1 1/2 cups of white rice (with 3 cups of water)
**can also use frozen vegetables instead of fresh if in a hurry

Sauce (just eyeball the amounts):
 ~1/3 cup soy sauce
 ~1/2 tsp. ground ginger
 ~1/4 tsp. cayenne  pepper
 ~1 tsp. sugar
 ~1 Tbs corn starch
 ~3/4 cup water

Directions:

1. First, rinse 1 & 1/2 cups white rice and the place in a medium pot.  Add 3 cups water.  Bring to a boil, cover, then turn to low.  Let cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and set aside. 
2. Place wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add olive oil, garlic, and cubed chicken.  Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked barely through (about 6-8 minutes.)  Watch garlic carefully and stir so it doesn't burn. 
3. Add green beans, onions, and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
4. Then add the carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, cashews, and sugar snap peas.  Cook till vegetables still have a slight crispness to them, stirring occasionally. (3-5 minutes)
5. In a separate bowl, combine soy sauce, ginger, cayenne, sugar, corn starch, and water.  Mix well.
6. Then pour the sauce over stirfry and cook for another couple minutes until the sauce is bubbly and thick.  
7. Serve over rice and enjoy!