Thai · Authentic-ish Thai
Chicken Cashew Nut
361 kcal a serving, against 540 for the traditional version. That is 179 kcal off, or 33%, with 38.8g of protein. Serves 4. 35 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chicken thigh chunks, dunked in plain flour, then deep-fried till crisp. Cashew nuts, also deep-fried for golden colour and a hot, buttery crunch.
What changed, and what each change costs
Ditch the flour and deep-frying. Stir-fry the chicken in 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.
The deep-fried coating is what makes the chicken puffy, crunchy and able to mop up sauce. Without it, the protein's leaner, and you only need enough oil to keep it from sticking. You lose that crisp shell, but the chicken doesn't collapse into dryness if the pan's hot enough.
What it costs you. The battered edges are gone, so there's no carby shell to soak up sauce. It's closer to a regular stir-fry, but you save most of the oil and half the faff.
Dry-roast the cashew nuts instead of deep-frying.
The fried version is a thing of beauty if you're a cashew obsessive - hot, blistered and rich. Roast them in a dry pan or oven and you keep most of the taste, but lose the extra fat that deep-frying brings.
What it costs you. The crunch isn't as muscular. The nuts are a bit chewier. If your dream is the crackle of takeaway cashews, this is a step down. If you just like the nutty flavour in a sweet sauce, you're fine.
Switch chicken thigh for chicken breast, up to 600g.
Chicken breast has less fat, more protein, and soaks up flavour from the sauce. Using more means the plate feels bulkier, and you get the same protein hit with less background grease. The sauce hides some of the dryness - though don't expect thigh-level juiciness.
What it costs you. You lose the melting, almost-greasy bite of thigh. If you're from the 'white meat's for hospital food' camp, you'll sulk. Otherwise, it's still a proper meal.
Cut the cashews from 100g to 60g.
Cashew nuts are the stealth bomb of the dish. They're tasty, but 100g is basically a snack-sized bag per person. You won't miss the missing nuts much once everything's sauced up.
What it costs you. You chase the odd nut around instead of eating by the handful. The sauce matters more than the nut, which is the whole point really.
Boost the onion, spring onion and chilli.
You want to fill the bowl without adding more nuts or oil, so double up on veg and keep the heat. It makes the plate less heavy and more colourful.
What it costs you. You need to actually chew the onions now, not just push them aside. This is a positive, unless you truly loathe vegetables.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 540 | 361 |
| Protein | 32g | 38.8g |
| Fat | 33g | 12.9g |
| Saturated fat | 5.5g | 2.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 30.2g | 22.8g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.9g | 10.8g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Thai prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. celery, fish, gluten, molluscs, mustard, nuts, soybeans, sulphites.
The method is in the book
No pretending - the deep-fried battered chicken is a loss. The first thing you miss is the crunch, and the second is the nutty snap. What you get is something much lighter, but still a full bowl of spicy-sweet flavour, and a proper protein boost. I wouldn't serve this to a homesick Thai chef, but for a Tuesday night when you want something fast and not too heavy, it's a winner.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Thai, along with 50 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.