Cashew Chicken
I love watching content on TV. I use the word TV almost metaphorically because most of the time, it’s on either an iPad on my laptop. The only time that I use my TV is when Natasha and I are watching something together. I use the TV like a white noise machine. It helps me drown out my brain just enough to focus on the one task in front of me. For this, a particular type of TV content is necessary— sitcoms. Sitcoms are amazing white noise machines. Once you know the characters of the show and their various characteristics, you can “watch” the show like a podcast. I have 3-4 shows that work great for this— Friends, The Office, and Everybody Loves Raymond. I have watched these shows on repeat for years. I know every plot point and every reason why the audience laughs. I could get a Ph.D. in these shows to be honest.
However, every now and then, I need to switch them off. I need to take a little break, which usually happens around the series’ second-to-last episode. I hate saying goodbye to these characters. In fact, the last episode of many of these long-running shows are the ones I have watched the least. In my head, these characters become my friends. They keep me company when no one else can or has the time. They are my single-child security blanket, and it hurts to see them go. This separation anxiety has been a long-running motif in my life. I hate saying goodbye to anyone. At parties, I love to leave instead of staying and announcing my departure. I have unknowingly conditioned Natasha to do this, which brings me way too much joy to think about.
As a child, I didn’t have access to white-noise aids like free-flowing OTT content and high-speed internet— not because of anything other than the fact that such technologies didn’t exist. For this reason, I made friends with the wall in front of my desk. Yes, I am writing this blog post from the same desk (and wall). I would look at it and talk aloud. I would look for responses in its cracks and literally “bounce ideas” off it. Isolation can sound depressing, and I’m sure this whole article is making you shed a tear for this lonely boy, but to be honest, it allowed me to think better. I loved my isolation. I thrive in pondering my thoughts alone, only to take a break to see what new prank Jim has played on Dwight. My white noise machine insulated me from distractions that I couldn’t control. Cooking did something similar. It covered my ears and channeled my energies into the boiling pot.
Isolation also helped this Cashew Chicken’s creator develop this recipe. David Leong had an amazing life of almost a hundred years. He was born in China and moved to the US, where he got estranged from his wife and kids for 10 years. Cooked through World War II and then went on to build restaurants and this dish. It’s a purely American dish with no connection to the motherland. It’s not Chinese food but food that encapsulates the mark of a man that has lived a life. Each ingredient showcases the blend of Asian cooking with accessible ingredients. The veggies are bare, but the flavours come through the sauce and simple marination within the chicken. Each element tastes great alone, but when they come together, they sing. David’s story is fascinating (you can read it here), and I hope that a young man sitting in Gurgaon, having only recently read up on it, can do it justice. I hope you try this recipe, and as always, happy cooking!
Glimpses from the week
Recipe
Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cloves of garlic, minced
For the chicken marinade
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
500 grams boneless chicken thighs
Rest of the dish
1 tablespoon veggie oil
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews
150 grams mushrooms
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Method
For the sauce
Combine all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
For the chicken
Combine all ingredients, except chicken into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Pour mixture over chicken and stir until evenly coated. Allow chicken to sit for 10 minutes.
Assemble
Place a large pan or wok over high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add half chicken and partially cook, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Transfer chicken to a plate and return pan to stove.
Add remaining oil and chicken to pan and partially cook, another 4 to 5 minutes. Stir plated chicken back to pan and cook for an additional minute.
Stir sauce into pan and lower heat to medium. Simmer sauce and chicken together until sauce thickens enough to coat chicken, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir cashews into chicken mixture until evenly combined.
Remove from heat and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.
