Stir Fried Chicken with Mushrooms and Cashews

A quick stir fry to liven up the dinner/lunch table and answer the question..hmm what shall I cook today? Use the basic spices and vary the vegetables as you have available.
You will need: Serves 3
Chicken-1/2 lb Boneless or use 1 chicken breast cut into pieces.
Dried Mushrooms (Shitake)- A handful
Onion-1 medium
Any Bell Pepper/Capsicum (Optional)- 1/3 of a pepper
Green Chilies -2
Red dried chili-3
Garlic-3 crushed
Ginger- ½ inch crushed
Scallions/Green Onion-3 stalks
Cashewnuts-A handful
Soy Sauce-2 tsp
Oyster Sauce-1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp black pepper
Oil-3-4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Lime juice-1tsp

Preparation:
1. Soak the dried mushroom in warm water for 20-30 minutes and squeeze out excess water and slice finely. Marinate the chicken in the soy sauce and oyster sauce for the same time.
2. Dice the bell pepper and chicken into the 1/2 inch squares.(The chicken should also be the same size cubes.) Keep the green part of the scallions to be added in the end.
3. Dry roast the cashews on low heat till fragrant and crisp. Alternatively, to make it richer, fry the cashews in a bit of oil till golden.
4. Heat the wok or pan to a high heat and add the onion and peppers. Stir fry on high heat for a minute and then lower heat and add the chilies, ginger, garlic, mushroom and stir fry again. After a minute, add the chicken and fry for at least 5-8 minutes or till the chicken gets cooked. From experience, I learnt not to mess with the size of chicken. Boneless tiny pieces is better off as then it gets cooked in the same time as the other ingredients. Check soy sauce and add a tiny bit more if needed.
5. When the chicken is cooked, add the cashewnuts, pepper, scallion’s green stem chopped and the lime juice. Toss well and adjust salt as required. If there is a lot of liquid left, add ¼ tsp of corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp water and let it simmer to thicken the sauce.
P.S. Use only dried mushrooms for this dish. It has a smoky intense taste which are lacking in the fresh ones. Any kind of dried ones (availiable at any Asian grocery store) will do but in this recipe, I used Shitake mushrooms. Also use dried whole red peppers not pepper flakes.

Chicken Stirfry, Chicken, Mushroom, Cashewnut, Food Blog, Indian Recipes, Spicy Recipes