Thai Chicken Cashew (+ Vegan Version)

First, cut your chicken against the grain into small bite-sized chunks. Set aside in a small bowl for now, add your cornstarch, garlic powder and thoroughly mix until all chicken pieces are well coated.

Now, cut the onion into fairly thick chunks. Also slice your green onions on a diagonal. Discard the very top and bottom parts of the green onion.

Prepare your sauce. In a small bowl, mix together your oyster sauce, thin soy sauce and water (or mushroom sauce and sugar if using the vegan version).

Heat your pan to medium-high heat and add your cashews and chile de arbol. Cook about 30-seconds to one minute or until the cashews start to turn a golden brown. Don't forget to stir frequently! Transfer the cashews and the chile to a plate.

Now, add 1 tbsp of oil and add your chicken pieces. This is where you should add your tofu in place of chicken if you are cooking the vegan version. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip. You want to ensure that each side of the chicken has been cooked. Cook for another 2-3 minutes of until you do not see any more pink. Place the chicken on the plate with the chiles and cashew.

Add an additional 1 tbsp of oil to your pan and add your garlic and chopped onions. Quickly toss, cooking for 2-3 minutes. You don't want your onions to caramelize - you want them to be crunch.

Once onions have softened, add in your sauce and cook together for 30-seconds. Now, quickly add back in your chicken, cashews and chile. Cook for another 1-3 minutes or until you get a thick coating of sauce around your ingredients.

Sprinkle your sliced green onions on top and serve your chicken cashew with rice, cauliflower rice, or whatever else you'd like.

If you use tofu, I recommend either crumbling it to create a ground tofu, or to thoroughly dry your tofu first before cooking the tofu chunks. Here is a good resource on properly dehydrating your tofu: https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-press-tofu-3376642.