Chinese · Authentic-ish Chinese
Cashew Chicken
379 kcal a serving, against 722 for the traditional version. That is 343 kcal off, or 48%, with 38.9g of protein. Serves 4. 25 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Fatty chicken thighs shallow-fried in copious amounts of vegetable oil. Tossed with a massive handful of roasted cashew nuts, a sugary soy sauce and a few token slices of spring onion. It relies entirely on fat for flavour and mouthfeel.
What changed, and what each change costs
600g of skin-on chicken thighs for 600g of chicken breast, velveted in egg white
Chicken breast is practically pure protein. Thigh meat brings a lot of fat to the party. Coating the lean breast in egg white and cornflour protects it from the fierce heat of the wok.
What it costs you. You lose the deep, savoury flavour of dark meat. Velveting keeps the breast tender, but it doesn't taste as rich as a crispy piece of thigh.
150g of whole cashews down to 40g, chopped in half
Nuts are massive calorie bombs. Dropping the volume slashes the fat. Chopping them in half means you still get a piece of nut in almost every bite.
What it costs you. What you've got is a chicken stir-fry with a nutty garnish. A mountain of roasted nuts anymore is a different dish and you know where to find it. If you love gorging on whole cashews, you'll miss them.
Heavy oil and token greens for 200g of red pepper and 150g of water chestnuts
Taking away 110g of nuts leaves the plate looking empty. Adding sweet red peppers and crisp water chestnuts brings massive volume and crunch for hardly any calories.
What it costs you. The dish moves away from being a dense, meaty, salty bowl. The vegetables make it sweeter and significantly wetter.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 722 | 379 |
| Protein | 33.1g | 38.9g |
| Fat | 56.5g | 12.4g |
| Saturated fat | 11.7g | 2.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 21.1g | 26.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.6g | 10.3g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, eggs, soybeans, nuts, molluscs, sulphites.
The method is in the book
This is the first time I have relied heavily on water chestnuts to save a dish. They provide that crucial snapping crunch that the missing cashews used to deliver. The velveted chicken stays impressively soft and carries the savoury, salty sauce perfectly. Chopping the remaining nuts in half is a cheap trick, but it works brilliantly to fool your brain into thinking there's a massive portion of them. It's a fantastic, fast dinner that keeps you full, provided you accept the extra vegetables.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback