Recipe - Cashew Nut Chicken (Yiu Gwoh Gai)

3 pound Chicken or 2 whole chicken
breasts
One fourth pound Raw cashew nuts
20 small Chinese mushrooms (or 1
mediumsize can mushrooms)
4 Stalks celery
One half cup Bamboo shoot tips (water
packed in 15 ozcan)
1 Yellow onion, thinly cut or sliced up
3 tablespoon Oil, approximately
One half teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Sugar
2 cup Chicken stock
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoon Water

MARINADE
Three fourths teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
Dash of pepper
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 Green onions, slivered
3 Thin slices ginger root,
slivered
2 cup Oil for deepfrying

1. Skin and bone chicken. Cut into 2" x 1/2" pieces.

2. Sprinkle the chicken with each of the ingredients listed under
"marinade," mix well, then add the green onions and ginger. Marinate for 1
hour.

3. Heat 2 cups oil to 325 degrees and deepfry cashew nuts for 5 minutes,
drain and salt lightly.

4. Boil Chinese mushrooms for 10 minutes, rinse, squeeze dry, cut off and
discard stems. If you use canned mushrooms, omit this step.

5. Cut celery into 1 1/2" pieces, then cut each piece lengthwise into
strips, julienne style.

6. Cut bamboo shoot tips into thin slices.

7. Peel water chestnuts (using potato peeler) and cut a little off the top
and the bottom of each one. Then cut them into thin slices and soak in
water to prevent them from turning dark. (Canned water chestnuts are
already peeled.)

8. Heat wok, add 1 t. oil and stirfry the bamboo tips and water chestnuts
together, if you use fresh water chestnuts. (If canned ones are used,
stirfry them separately in 1 teaspoon oil for 12 minutes, adding 2
teaspoons sugar.) Set aside.

9. Heat wok, add 1 teaspoon oil and stirfry mushrooms, celery and yellow
onion for 3 minutes, with One half teaspoon salt and One half teaspoon sugar. Set
aside.

10. Heat wok, add 2 tablespoons oil and stirfry marinated chicken for 3
minutes. Add chicken stock, cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium
heat.

11. Add vegetables which have been previously set aside and bring to a fast
boil.

12. Thicken with a mixture made with the cornstarch and 2 tablespoon cold
water. Bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute and turn off the heat.

13. Add cashew nuts, mix thoroughly, and serve.

Serve alone, or with rice.

SOURCE: Chopsticks, Clever and Wok.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini