Cookbook:Leong's Cashew Chicken

| Meat Recipes | Midwestern U.S. cuisine

Cashew chicken was invented at Leong's Tea House in Springfield, Missouri. Leong had difficulty popularizing Chinese cuisine in the area and based the dish on the popular fried foods common in the Ozarks. The dish is not truly Chinese, but rather an American dish with a "Chinese" theme.

Note that there is also an unbreaded cashew chicken recipe with softened cashews.

Chicken

 * 2 medium chicken breasts
 * 3 eggs
 * 1 cup milk
 * 1 cup all-purpose flour
 * Salt (to taste)
 * Cashews, optionally chopped
 * Green onions, chopped

Sauce

 * 1 can chicken broth
 * 1 Tbsp cornstarch
 * 2 Tbsp cold water
 * 2 Tbsp soy sauce
 * 2 Tbsp oyster sauce

Procedure

 * 1) Debone and cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
 * 2) Beat eggs and mix with milk.
 * 3) Combine flour and salt.
 * 4) Dip breasts into egg/milk combination, then into flour.
 * 5) Deep fry the chicken until golden and cooked through.
 * 6) For the sauce, heat broth in a saucepan on low to medium heat.
 * 7) Make a cornstarch slurry with the cornstarch and cold water. Set aside.
 * 8) Add oyster sauce and soy sauce to the broth. Continue heating the sauce.
 * 9) Add the cornstarch slurry as needed to thicken the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency.
 * 10) Serve chicken on fried rice, cover liberally with sauce, and garnish with cashews and green onions.