Cashew Chicken – Missouri Style

Make the sauce by bringing the bouillon cubes and water to a boil in a saucepan.

In a small bowl, mix together the 2 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch, sugar and spice mixture with just enough cold water to make a thick paste. Add the soy sauce and red pepper and stir until smooth; then add this into the boiling bouillon water. This thickens quickly, so it doesn’t take long at all to make. Once it’s hot, turn down to a very low heat to keep warm while you make the chicken.

For the chicken: Place the chicken cubes into a bowl with a lid. Combine the flour and 1/2 cup cornstarch in a small bowl. Add 1/2 of the mixed flour and cornstarch into the bowl with the chicken, cover with the lid and shake to coat all the pieces. Set aside.

Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of milk, then add it into the bowl with the chicken and shake this again until well coated. Add the remaining flour and cornstarch to the bowl, put the lid on and give it a good shake once again. Be sure all the pieces of chicken are coated. This will make it fry up crispy.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot you are ready to cook the chicken. Preheat oven to 200 F.

Deep fry the pieces of chicken in batches. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or spider when golden brown and the chicken is cooked. Place chicken in an oven-safe dish lined with paper towels. Place in the warm oven to hold until all the chicken is fried. Repeat frying the rest of the chicken. Sprinkle cooked chicken lightly with kosher salt.

Serve with white rice or your favorite fried rice. We place the chicken on our plate, spoon some of the sauce over and then top with the chopped onions and the cashews. I also like to serve with sauteed garlic green beans.