This is the perfect dish to satisfy that take-out craving! It’s heavy on the veggies and contains two main sources of protein. Serve it over some rice (or cauliflower rice for my grain-free folks out there) and you have a delicious, Asian-style, cruelty-free dinner!
The first time I made this meal, I was missing one of my favorite dishes from a Chinese restaurant near where I used to live. I’ve always loved all varieties of Asian foods and thankfully still eat them often as many tend to be veg heavy (or easily veganized if not).
For the “chicken” in this dish, I use soya chunks (I find these at my local Latin market) which I first rehydrate in chicken-flavored vegetable broth and then toss in additional seasonings mixed with some cornstarch. The soya chunks I had sitting in my kitchen for months untouched. I’d never used them before and wasn’t sure what I’d put them in. For whatever reason, I thought of them when I chose to make this dish, and they worked perfectly!
Because I’d never used the soya chunks previously, I researched a bit first to learn how to cook them. Everything I read said to rehydrate in water before using. My thought was, if I’m going to rehydrate them, why not add some flavor at the same time?! Using water seemed silly and they turned out delicious using the broth!
Some of the veggies in this were a little different from what I originally planned. I’d wanted to use cabbage but the first time I made this I didn’t have any, and I don’t typically care for green beans or celery, but those I did have (they came in my CSA box that week). I ended up liking it so much using what I had on hand, I decided to keep everything the same the next time I made it. Why change a good thing?
Are you a huge fan of Chinese and other Asian dishes, like I am? Hopefully, you enjoy this dish as much as I have! Please let me know by leaving a comment below or by taking a pic and tagging me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Garlic & Cashew Chick’n
Ingredients
For the chick'n…
- 2 cups water
- "chicken"-flavored vegetable bullion, enough for 4 cups of broth (but don't add the water!) I use either 2 Edward & Son's Not-Chick'n Bouillon Cubes or 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base
- 1 cup, heaping soya chunks
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- heavy pinch ginger powder
- heavy pinch black pepper
For the sauce…
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce gluten-free if necessary
- 3 Tbsp agave
- 1 1/2 Tbsp hoisin sauce ensure gluten-free if necessary
- 1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder you can substitute cornstarch but it won't have the same "sticky" texture
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
Everything else…
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced small (1 cup diced weighing 4 1/2 oz)
- 3 green onions (1 1/2 oz) chopped, greens and whites separated
- 1 green bell pepper (6.5 oz in weight) diced small (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 1/4 lb green beans trimmed and cut into 1" pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1/4 lb largely diced zucchini (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 medium stalks celery (2 oz before trimming, 1/2 cup after slicing) 1/4" slices
- 8 oz can whole water chestnuts quartered
- 1 cup roasted cashews
- olive oil (or oil of choice) for cooking
Instructions
- Bring two cups of water to a bowl in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, whisk in the bullion and remove from heat (you should have bullion measured for 4 cups of broth, but you are only using half of the water). Once all of the bullion has dissolved, add the soya chunks and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Once soya chunks have rehydrated, strain them from the broth and add them to a medium-sized bowl. In a small bowl or ramekin, combine the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, ginger powder, and pepper. Sprinkle mixture over the soya chunks and toss to coat evenly.
- Heat a medium to large skillet to medium heat and drizzle with oil. Once the oil is hot, add the soya chunks and sautée until browned. Remove from heat.
- Heat a large, deep skillet to medium heat and drizzle with oil. Once hot, add the yellow onion, the whites of the green onions, the bell pepper, garlic, and ginger. Sautée for 3 – 5 minutes, until onions have softened. Add the green beans, zucchini, celery, and sauce, then stir. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the veggies start to soften and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the water chestnuts, half of the greens of the green onions, 3/4 cup of the cashews, and the soya chunks. Once the soya chunks are reheated remove from heat.
- Chop the remaining 1/4 cup of cashews and use as a garnish with the remaining green onions.