Chicken with Cashew Nuts

When I would get Chinese, I always had my favorite. General Tso's or Orange Chicken. Obviously more a chicken fan when it comes to Chinese food. ANYWAY. When my husband and I were dating we went to his dads for dinner one night and he made Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Needless to say, I fell in love and had to try this recipe. I didn't get to it until I felt ALOT more comfortable in the kitchen. There are definitely recipes that can be very intimidating. This was one of them. First off.. I have never heard of Sesame Oil. So I figured I could just replace it with regular oil. BOY was I WRONG.. Also, where in the heck was I going to find sweet bean sauce? Oh... look.. there it is. In the international section. Dur. There is a lot of prep and it makes a mess for sure, but SO worth it. Rivals any good Chinese Restaurant. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:

1lb (I use 3lbs for a family of 5) Chicken cubes (cut in 1/2 inch cubes)
Marinate the chicken in the following (adjust if necessary for more chicken):
-1 1/2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
-1/2 tsp of salt
-1 Tbsp sugar
-1/8tsp pepper

3oz (about 1/2 cup) Cashew  Nuts
1/2 Cup Onion (diced)
1/2 Cup Carrots (precooked & sliced)
1/2 Cup Green Peppers (diced)
1 t Garlic (chopped)

Sauce:

1Tbsp Sweet Bean Sauce
1Tbsp Sherry
1Tbsp Sesame Oil
1tsp Sugar
1Tbsp Water

Methods:

1.) Stir Fry cashew nuts in 2 Tbsp of oil in wok over medium heat until light brown and remove
2.) Sautee onion, green pepper, and carrot and remove.
3.) heat wok with 2 Cups(yes cups) of oil, coat chicken cubes with 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, put into wok and separate them with spatula, and remove when meat turns white.
4.) Heat wok with 1 Tbsp of oil, put garlic in to bring out the flavor, pour sauce in, bring to a boil, pour chicken cubes in and stir with spatula so every piece is coated with sauce. Pour vegetables and nuts in and mix well. Serve with hot fluffy rice.

5.) Vegetables and nuts may vary as one prefers, such as snow peas and almond may be used instead of green pepper and cashew nuts.