Taste Thailand | Cashew Chicken

We are in our final week of our Thailand series at Mommy Maleta. That means it is time for a recipe. When I was in Thailand back in 2003 with my husband for a sports ministry conference, a lot of our Thai friends were kind enough to warn us when they thought certain foods were too spicy for us to handle. So in order to taste Thailand, I thought I’d share a recipe for cashew chicken that has a tiny, yet manageable kick.

Ginger

I love recipes that include fresh ginger. If you are not familiar with ginger, don’t let your unfamiliarity keep you from using it because it’s an easy ingredient to toss in, and adds wonderful flavor to your dishes. You should be able to find ginger in the produce section of your local grocery store. It is a root and it looks a bit like a puffy antler.

Fresh Ginger

To add ginger to the cashew chicken recipe, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer layer of the root. Next, grate the ginger with a hand held cheese grater. I found this video to show you exactly how to do it.

Now that you are a ginger expert, it’s time to make the cashew chicken! This is a crockpot recipe so make sure you have your slow cooker ready and allow 3-4 hours cooking time.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs raw chicken breasts cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup flour
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice (vegetable, canola, extra virgin olive oil etc.)
• 1/4 soy sauce or tamari sauce (read the difference between the two here)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 – 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• pinch of red pepper flakes (I like to rub them between my hands to break them up right before I add them to release more flavor)
• handful of cashews
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro (optional)

Instructions

• Mix soy or tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl and set aside.
• Combine the flour and pepper in a large ziplock bag.
• Heat oil in a large pan.
• While the oil is heating place the cut up chicken pieces in the plastic bag and shake until the pieces of chicken are coated with flour.
• Place the pieces of chicken in hot oil. Brown the pieces on one side for about 2 minutes and then flip to brown the other side for 2 more minute. This helps seal in the juices.
• Add the chicken to the crockpot and pour the sauce mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. I stirred the sauce and the chicken once about halfway through the cooking time.
• Add cashews and stir until nuts are heated through.
• Serve the cashew chicken over a bed of white or brown rice and sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro if desired.

Recipe adapted from: Six Sisters’ Stuff

My family really enjoyed this recipe and I hope yours does too. Thanks so much for exploring Thailand with me. If you haven’t seen the first three posts in this series be sure check out the links below.

Thailand Week 1: Map, Flag, and Country Facts
Thailand Week 2: Interview with Tabo & Piao
Thailand Week 3: Hanging Elephants Craft

Finally, join me next week when I explore a very special island which was the inspiration for a beloved story that has been translated into dozens of languages.

This post was linked up over at Anderson & Grant