Cashew Orange Spice Chicken

By Paul Briand

In addition to my blogging duties here at Eats@Home and at Boomer Angst, I post regularly for Examiner.com as its national Baby Boomer Examiner.

Basically, I write each day about any and all issues relating to Baby Boomers, that vast generation of 79 million people born between 1946 and 1964.

Today, I wrote about how Baby Boomers, because they are losing their sense of smell and taste, are fueling the need for spicier, hotter food. They need the spice and heat to compensate for what their senses are telling them is bland food.

In my research I came across a recipe web site that is aptly named: Fiery-Foods.com

And I found a recipe, courtesy of Fiery-Foods, for Cashew Orange Spice Chicken that I wanted to pass along:

Ingredients
Half cup orange juice, fresh preferred
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cubed
2 tablespoons chili oil, either Asian or habanero
6 small dried red chilies, such as japonese or pequin
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup cashews, either pieces or halves
3 green onions, chopped including the tops

Directions
1. Combine the orange juice, rice wine, soy sauce, orange zest, Sichuan peppercorns, and peanut oil in a nonreactive bowl,
2. Toss the chicken in the mixture and marinate for one hour,
3. Remove, drain, and reserve the marinade,
4. Heat the chili oil in a wok or heavy pan to about 350 degrees,
5. Add the chilis and saute for a minute,
6. Add the ginger and stir-fry for an additional minute,
7. Add the chicken and stir-fry until done. Remove and keep warm,
8. Add the marinade to the wok or pan and heat until boiling,
9. Slowly stir in enough of the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce,
10. Return the chicken to the wok and heat thoroughly,
11. Pour the chicken over the rice, garnish with the cashews and onion.

A few words of caution: Note that this recipe calls for peanut oil. Also, this gets a heat level of 5 out of 5 from Fiery-Foods.com, making it very hot and spicy. That's because the pequin peppers are very hot, up to eight times hotter than jalapeños on the Scoville scale. You've been forewarned.