Chinese Pineapple Chicken With Cashew Nuts, Ginger, Spring Onion

robd16's Note:

This is sure to satisfy all your cravings for Chinese food, it's a great recipe. Be brave with the ginger, it mellows out as it cooks and is helped along by the sweetness of the dish. The cashew nuts are optional but I am yet to make it without them as I love their crunchy texture and creamy taste. Be sure to serve it with plenty of white fluffy rice. Quicker than waiting for takeout. UPDATE - I HAVE DECREASED THE AMOUNT OF WATER USED IN THE SAUCE FROM 1/2PT TO 1/4 PINT BUT I FIND IT DOES TEND TO GET A BIT TOO THICK AND NEEDS A DROP OR 2 MORE. USE YOUR SENSES, IF YOU THINK IT NEEDS IT THEN ADD IT! ADDING FROZEN VEGGIES WILL WATER THE SAUCE DOWN CONSIDERABLY. THIS PARTICULAR RECIPE DOES NOT ADHERE MUCH TO TWEAKING AND I SUGGEST YOU TRY IT AS STATED BELOW FIRST. THANK YOU

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 100 g roasted cashew nuts (optional)
• 8 -12 spring onions, chopped (scallions)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 (7 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice (small size can)
• gingerroot, peeled and chopped finely (2-3 inch chunk)
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons rice wine (can use dry sherry)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
• 1/4 pint water (plus a little more if needed)

Directions:

1. First of all make the sauce. Combine everything, mix well until smooth and set aside.
2. Fry the chicken in the oil with the onion and ginger for 5 minutes over a medium high heat.
3. Add the green pepper and the pineapple chunks and fry for another 5 minutes adding half of the spring onions after 2 minutes.
4. Add the crushed garlic and the cashew nuts, fry for 2 minutes then pour over the sauce and bring to the boil.
5. After a minute or 2, the sauce should thicken and stick to the chicken. It it looks too thick, add some water, little by little until desired consistency is acheived.
6. Utterly Delicious.

Reviews

[Susie D]

While this was tasty I encountered several problems with the recipe. 1) The lovely chicken & vegetables were simply swimming in sauce. Note: I copied the recipe before the reduction in water so didn't see the change before making the dish. 2) There is no indication on whether to drain the pineapple tidbits. I drained them into a measuring cup & used as part of the water amount. 3) The ingredients aren't in the order used so do read carefully. After everything is chopped & assembled the recipe goes together easily. I added 1/2 pound of fresh asparagus in step three and liked the addition. We ladeled the chicken, veggies, & sauce over chow mein noodles for added crunch. Made for Spring 2010 Pick A Chef.

[ChefMDTP]

This is an easy and tasty treat! I used a bag of frozen stirfry veggies i lieu of the green pepper (added them in frozen with the chicken), and used pineapple tidbits instead of the chunks. The sauce was a little bit bland for my tastes, but this is definitely worth tweaking!

[Muise4]

This is awesome. It really tastes like it came from a chinese restaurant. I could not find golden syrup so used pure maple syrup. I would love more of these recipes rob16. Thank you.