Thai Cashew Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-3 cloves garlic
2 celery stalks
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
1 cup cashews
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (for frying)

For the Sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce (for a spicy version, substitute 1 teaspoon chili paste or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoons white sugar

1. Mise en Place
   French for "put in place," mise en place is the discipline of getting all of your ingredients ready before you start cooking. It's especially important for dishes like stir-fry, where you'll be doing most of the cooking all at once. For dishes where you have to wait while something cooks before you can start on the next step, you can go with a more "prep as you go" style.


• Mince the garlic
  Start by cracking open the garlic with the flat end of the knife, then peel the skin off. Roughly chop the garlic, then pour a small amount of oil over it and sprinkle with salt. Press the salt into the garlic with the flat end of the knife, then roughly chop it some more. Repeat until the garlic is chopped in small pieces.



• Slice the celery
  Hold the knife at a 45° angle and chop the celery into 1/4-inch slices. Angling the knife like this is called cutting on the bias, and it is useful for giving you extra surface area. The more surface area, the more of your veggies will be in contact with the pan, making it brown nicely.



• Slice the onion
  Peel the onion, then cut in half and place it, cut side down, on the cutting board. Slice it in half again lengthwise, and then slice horizontally into 1/4 inch strips. The onion should be roughly the same size as the celery to ensure even cooking.



• Slice the bell pepper
  First cut the bell pepper in half, then cut out the top and the seeds. Place it on the cutting board, cut side down. Slice into 1/4 inch strips, then slice the strips in half. The bell pepper should also be roughly the same size as the other vegetables.



• Toast the cashews
  Leave the cashews whole. Heat a frying pan to medium heat, then toast the cashews until they start to brown and smell fragrant, about 2 or 3 minutes. Be careful not to over-cook them; nuts will go from brown to black in a very short time, so keep your eye on them the whole time.



• Mix the sauce ingredients
  Stir together the chili sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar, and set them aside.



• Slice the chicken
  Slice the chicken into 1/2 inch strips, and cut those down to smaller pieces as needed. Each piece should be about 1 inch by 1/2 inch.



2. Brown the chicken
   Heat half of the oil in a frying pan to medium heat, then add the chicken. When placing the chicken in the pan, make sure to lay them down away from you so that you don't splatter yourself with the oil, and be careful not to put the pieces too close together, as this can cause them to stick together and take longer to cook. Cook on the first side until the flesh turns mostly opaque, with only a little bit of pink showing, then stir the pan to cook on the other side until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside for later.




3. Brown the vegetables
   Add the other half of the oil to the pan, return it to medium heat, and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about a minute, then add the celery, onion, and bell pepper. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.



4. Add the chicken and sauce
   Add the chicken and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes to warm the chicken through. Add the sauce and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cashews. Serve along with your favorite rice.