Sweet & Spicy Cashew Chicken

This recipe is from the Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook. A friend photocopied it and gave it to me and it’s taken me a good year and a half to get around to making it. Quite unfortunate really because it’s incredibly delicious and surprisingly low in fat! I tried it out on friends last night and I think it was a winner. It’s absolutely packed with flavor and I think you’d be hard pressed to distinguish this dish from one in a restaurant! I served it over steamed Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) and Bok Choy although the picture shows it over rice.

INGREDIENTS
Sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup – Low Sodium
4 tsp Bragg’s or Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (Heinz brand is GF)
3 tbsp Sugar or Splenda
1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Cayenne Powder
1/2 cup Chicken Broth – Low Sodium

Stir fry
3 tbsp Arrowroot Powder or Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Sugar or Splenda
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Chicken Breasts – Boneless Skinless – Cubed
1/8 cup Vegetable Oil
3 cloves Garlic – Minced
2-3 tbsp Ginger – Minced
1 Onion – Small – Chopped
2 Red Peppers – Cut into strips
2 Carrots – Thinly sliced diagonally
2 cups Snow Peas
1/2 cup (65g) Cashews – Roasted – Unsalted *Optional
2 tbsp Sesame Seeds *Optional

METHOD
-Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
-In another bowl, combine cornstarch, splenda and salt. Add chicken and toss to coat.
-Heat wok to highest heat and add oil. When oil is hot hot but not smoking, add chicken, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir until chicken is opaque. Add peppers and carrots. Stir another 2-3 minutes.
-Add peas and sauce. Cook until sauce comes to a boil.
-Add cashews and sesame seeds and serve immediately over rice **SEE NOTES

NOTES
– I didn’t want to serve this on rice so I steamed up some Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) and some Kale and served the chicken over that. It was delicious and a much healthier alternative to rice.
– If you’re serving guests, and don’t want to eat cashews yourself, you can put them in a bowl on the table and let them take as much as they want for their serving.
– Splenda is a perfect alternative to sugar in this recipe.

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serves 6
Weight Watchers points per serving – 6 (8 with cashews and sesame seeds)
Calories – 245 (319.6)
Fat – 7g (13)
Fibre – 2.2g (2.9)
Sodium – 1076mg (1076)
Carbohydrates – 19.1g (21.6)
Protein – 25g (27)