Chicken with cashew nuts and basmati rice

Sometimes it can be good fun to go with one’s instincts and seek out recipes from faraway places, where an exotic cuisine offers unusual but tasty combinations of flavours, and perhaps a unique experience for your guests – perhaps this is exactly what you’re looking for? Today we thought we’d use up some cashew nuts we had in the fridge to create a new interpretation of a classic recipe for chicken with cashew nuts, a typically Asian and Chinese combination: it’s a particularly colourful and textured dish, one that is especially crunchy. We’ll pass on some tricks of the trade: the secret is to use a little carrot and green pepper, or alternatively some courgette which will give it a more delicate result. There’s nothing left to do but get to work in the kitchen with our recipe to hand!

Let the chicken marinate in plenty of soy sauce. In the meantime, make the rice. Place the rice in a non-stick pan covered with water, which should be half a centimetre above the surface of the rice. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cover, put on a low heat and bring to the boil. When it starts to simmer (you should use a transparent lid in order to see when it starts) time precisely 12 minutes. When the 12 minutes is up, remove from the heat and let the rice stand for another 12 minutes without removing the lid. Then transfer the rice to a serving bowl until the chicken is ready. Take the cashews and toast them in a saucepan; set aside. To make the chicken, it is best to use a wok but you can also use a regular frying pan. Chop the onion coarsely and fry it in the pan with the whole garlic clove and a little corn oil; then add the chicken - it should be cooked first; then add the soy sauce into which you have dissolved a teaspoon of cornflour in order to give some additional creaminess. Now it’s time to fry the veg, over a high flame: they should remain fairly crisp. If they dry out too much and you still need time to cook the chicken, add some stock, but not too much because the dish, and especially the vegetables, should remain crisp rather than mushy. Finally add the cashews, stir for a few moments and serve with a little grated ginger (if you like). Due to the soy sauce and cashew nuts, it is not advisable to add salt: your chicken with cashews will become too salty.