Saturday, January 19, 2013

MMMM.......CASHEW CHICKEN !

               My family loves Chinese food. My husband really loved it, but because of
          the sodium in Chinese food, we stayed away, [well, we did splurge once in a while].
          When we both were diagnosed with HBP, I tried to find recipes that contained low
          sodium. This was back in the latter '70s, when grocers shelves were not stocked
          with choices one has today. Here is a recipe I made often and we both liked .

                                                         CASHEW  CHICKEN

                   1/2 cup dry white wine
                   1/4 cup LOW SODIUM soy sauce
                   1 Tablespoon peeled, grated ginger root
                   1 clove garlic crushed
                   1 + 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
                           Combine these  4 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-lock
                           bag; dd chicken. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is coated.
                           Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.
                     1/2 pound of fresh green beans [ I sometimes used fresh snap peas, instead]
                           Wash green beans, remove any strings, trim ends.
                           Cut diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
                      1 Tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided
                           Coat a Wok or large skillet with cooking spray; drizzle
                           2 teaspoon oil around top of Wok or skillet, coating sides
                     1/2 cup  diagonally-sliced celery
                     1/2 cup diagonally-sliced carrot
                     1/2 cup sliced green onions
                             Heat Wok at medium high heat until oil is hot,
                             Add green beans, celery, carrots,and onions; stir-fry 5 minutes
                             or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove veggies from Wok
                             and set aside.
                     1 [10 + 1/2 ounce] can low sodium chicken broth
                     3 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
                     1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
                     1 Tablespoon brown sugar
                                Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade
                                Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to Wok. Add chicken; stir-fry
                                3 or 4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned.
                                Combine broth with the 3 ingredients, stirring well.
                                Add broth mixture to chicken in Wok, stir-fry 1 -2 minutes
                                until mixture is thickened and bubbly.   Add all the vegetables
                                and 1/3 cup chopped UNSALTED  cashews; stir-fry 1 minute
                               until heated thoroughly. Serve over rice, Yields 6 servings.

                      Calories-462 [ 17% from fat],  Sodium-369  mg.

                      This ordered at a Chinese restaurant--Calories-410 [not incl. rice]
                                                                                1300 -2000 mg Sodium
                       The choice as to which Rice to eat is yours;
                        White rice has 215 Cal, no fiber and no nutrients for 1 cup;
                        Brown rice has 216 Calories, 4 grams fiber, 84 grams potassium,
                        and  5 grams protein for 1 cup.

               When preparing this recipe, chop veg,  and gather all other ingredients
               before you even get started. Good luck and enjoy!
 

        That is all for today friend, this is Jenny
       
                               
 
                         
 .


         


1 comment:

  1. alright, nix the celery and we have a winner...smiles...love chinese....we all do, even my boys....

    ReplyDelete