Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Chinese Orange-Barbecue Cashew Chicken

Remember that elementary school game called What's Wrong With This Picture?  Everything always looked good but there was just that one thing out of place, or askew?  That's what I think of when I think of this recipe.  It looks good, but if you look closely you'll see what's wrong. 

See all that sauce just sitting on the bottom of the plate?  Not cool!  When I chose this recipe for our Look + Cook cook along this month I was thinking this would be an amazing recipe with a delicious sauce that coats the chicken.  It wasn't.  No matter what I did, I couldn't get the sauce to coat the chicken.  I cooked it a little longer than called for, didn't matter.  As a last attempt I even tried adding cornstarch to the sauce to help thicken it and that didn't work either.   

In addition we found the flavor to be a little strange.  It could just be personal taste.  We'd never had Orange-Barbecue Chicken before and maybe it's just not our thing, but something about it was just off. After many rounds of extremely tasty recipes from Rachel's Look + Cook book this is officially the first flop.  I guess it was bound to happen.  This was edible and we did eat it, but I wouldn't make it again. Oh well, live and learn, right?

Chinese Orange-Barbecue Cashew Chicken
Adapted from Rachel Ray's Look + Cook
Serves 4-6, easily

2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into bite-size pieces
salt and pepper
1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch dice
1 onion, chopped into 1/2-inch dice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons tamari (aged soy sauce)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup honey-roasted cashews
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

Place a large skillet over high heat with about 1 tablespoons of the oil.  When the pan is very hot, add the meat, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove the meat from the pan and reserve on plate.  Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the skillet and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender.  In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin sauce, orange marmalade, hot sauce, tamari, and stock.  Return the chicken to the skillet and pour in the sauce.  Add the cashews, toss to coat, and continue cooking until sauce thickens up, about 1 minute more.  Serve the stir-fry with brown rice and garnish with the scallions.

Next month's Look + Cook recipe, chosen by Brenda of Brenda's Canadian Kitchen, is Spinach and Artichoke Mac 'n Cheese.  Look for Brenda's version of Chinese Orange-Barbecue Cashew Chicken coming up in the next few days!


17 comments:

  1. That sauce looks like it needs to be over some rice! It sounds pretty good to me!

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  2. I suppose no book gets it 100% right!

    I agree with Pam, it does look like its calling out for loads of fluffy rice!!

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  3. I made this for dinner a few nights ago...and I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected, either. Not very orangey if you ask me!

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  4. I was definitely picturing more of a stir fry-esque sauce as well and less of a...well SAUCE. Ah, well at least you tried!

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  5. I guess you just need a ton of rice to soak up the sauce! It does look inviting!

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  6. I am not a "saucy" person. I guess I like things that are "glazed." It is a photogenic dish, however, and I'm sure there are lots of people who would love it.

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  7. I thought rice too.
    Hope the next one is better!

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  8. You were on such a streak. ;-) I guess you can't win them all. It is an attractive dish though.

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  9. Kim, I'm FINALLY making this tomorrow night after putting it off for a few weeks, lol! I'll let you know how it goes!

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  10. I think I would use rice as Claudia suggested, but it looks damn fine and tasty! I love chicken, as you know :-)

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  11. Too bad it didn't work out. My kids love orange chicken and I was hoping to have a good recipe for it.
    Mimi

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  12. this actually happens to me a lot when i do stirfrys. the sauce never seems to be as thick as it needs to be. it sure looks good though, i'm sorry it didn't work out!

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  13. This looks super yummy, but sorry that sauce didn't set up quite as planned. I bet it still tasted amazing.

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  14. Yum! This looks great, love the flavor combo:)

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  15. My kids love the Panda Orange Chicken, so they would be a bit disappointed with this version too. Although I agree with others, maybe just needs some rice.

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  16. Did you add corn starch straight to the sauce or did you add it to cold water first to make a slurry? If I am adding straight to sauce, I like to use potato starch instead.

    But sounds like you tried everything I would have to "fix" it.

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  17. I actually made this a few years ago (it was on 30 minute meals) and I think that we liked it. I don't remember it being so saucy, but my husband is a sauce freak, so maybe that's why we liked it!!

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