Cashew Stir-Fry with Mushrooms & Bok Choy

Craving a quick, mid-week meal that is full of flavor, filling and healthy (but not too healthy - as in - no flavor, totally boring and makes you just want to dive into a box of Milk Duds)? Well, look no further because I'm here to give you just that meal.

This dish was inspired by a blogger that lives in my community who also runs a spice website. It's amazing times a million-billion! The original dish called for chicken breast, but being a person who doesn't meal plan (really? who does that!) and usually decides what's for dinner that night at about 4:47pm (yes, that's what people do), I obviously didn't have chicken at the ready.

But, wait...I had my AHA! moment...CASHEWS are at the ready.

And they also had been sitting in my freezer for a good 5 months after I saw a different cashew stir-fry recipe online which never came to fruition because my pantry is pretty much a grocery store so I'm constantly struggling to keep up on non-rotting food by dictating what's for dinner that night on what's rotting in the cheese drawer (yum, who wants to come for dinner?).

So, all-in-all we've got some great things happening here, we're getting rid of 115 day-old cashews and dinner that a 6 year old will not touch because all of those green things are touching the other slimy lookin' things, but there is rice so this mother will not worry that my child will go to bed hungry and there is always tomorrow is going to be on the table in less than 20 minutes.

This recipe is really versatile. You could swap out the vegetables for a million different combinations! Ok, maybe not a million, but these combinations would work splendidly:

• Sliced Red Pepper, Sweet Red Onion Chunks, & Napa Cabbage
• Carrot Coins, Baby Corn, & Kale
• Broccoli Florets, Mushrooms, & Carrot Coins
• Cauliflower Florets, Red Onion Chunks, & Sliced Red Pepper
• Fresh Bean Sprouts, Mushrooms, & Swiss Chard

The cashews can be substituted, too! You could use almonds, walnuts or peanuts. Be very gentle with sautéing them. I had a notion that as I dropped them into the hot wok they were all going to burn and this meal was going to be ending badly, but it worked out just fine! 

The protein can be changed up, too. You could do chicken, beef, pork, shrimp or even tofu. Be creative, have fun - take a chance...that's the only way you can learn in the kitchen!

Printable Recipe Here

Cashew Stir-Fry with Mushrooms & Bok Choy
recipe adapted from Season with Spice

Stir-fry Sauce:

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon red chili flake
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch

2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola
1 cup unsalted cashews
1 8 oz. container crimini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 small head bok choy, sliced 1/4" thin - about 4 cups
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
1" piece fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
4 green onions, coarsely chopped

Heat a wok over high heat for a couple minutes while you make the sauce and chop vedge - have all ingredients ready to go before you start the stir-fry. If you are slower prepping the sauce and vedge, maybe start heating up your wok in the middle of your prep.

Prepare the stir-fry sauce: Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, dry sherry, sesame oil, red chili flake, brown sugar, and corn starch in a small bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat for 1 minute, or until smoking. Toss in the cashews and continue to toss for 30 seconds until gently browned around the edges. Remove from wok. Set aside.

Return wok to high heat and add in quartered mushrooms and sliced bok choy. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, tossing continuously. Toss in minced garlic and ginger, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Return cashews to wok. Give the sauce another whisk and pour into hot wok. Toss to combine. Add lemon juice and green onions. Toss until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. You may need to add a tiny bit of water.

Serve with jasmine rice. Reheats well.