I love the speed and ease of cooking with a wok. My recipe for Chicken Cashew Stir-fry with Noodles is a breeze to prepare. Once all the ingredients are chopped, they go straight into the wok and everything cooks rather quickly. The sweet hoisin sauce and toasted sesame oil give this dish its slightly sweet and nutty flavours while the cashews provide a contrasting texture. Add the convenience of ready noodles and you’ve got some seriously good comfort food. So wok this way!

Ingredients:

½ cup cashews
3 tbsp peanut oil
500g boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into finger-length strips
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
6 spring onions, chopped (white and green parts)
2 tbsp dry sherry
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
300g egg noodles

Heat a wok until hot. Do not add the peanut oil at this stage. Dry-fry the cashews over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until they are a golden brown colour. Make sure you keep stirring the cashews in the wok to prevent them from burning. Remove them and set them aside.

Tip: I usually have two small bowls at the ready: one containing red pepper slices and white part of the spring onions, and another bowl with the green part. Then I add the dry-fried cashews to this bowl, as both the green part of the spring onions and cashews are tipped into the wok at the end.

Whilst wok is still hot, add the peanut oil and gently swirl it around to coat the sides of the wok.

Add the sliced chicken breasts and stir-fry for a few minutes until half cooked.

Tip the bowl with the red pepper and white part of the spring onions into the wok and stir-fry for a few more minutes.

Add the chopped garlic, sherry and hoisin sauce and continue to stir-fry until the ingredients are evenly glazed and the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Stir in the toasted sesame oil for a few seconds. Don’t let the sesame oil fry too long as it has a low smoke point.

Add the cashews and green part of the spring onions. Give everything a quick stir.

Quickly add the ready egg noodles to the wok and heat them through for about 2-3 minutes until all the ingredients are evenly coated.

Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings. Chopsticks at the ready (if desired)!

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