If it's pretty, I'll probably eat it..

Spicy Chicken and Cashew Stir Fry with Yellow Peppers and Snow Peas

In my free time I like to browse recipes. When I'm stressed, I browse recipes. When I'm happy, well, I browse recipes. There are so many to choose from that sometimes I can barely manage to pick one and stick with it. In no time, I will have changed my mind again, finding something else that I would rather make for my next dinner. And this vicious cycle never stops. Something in my brain doesn't allow me to stop the search, to stop hoping for something better. Sometimes I'm so confused with all the choices that I refuse to choose, and end up having a sandwich for dinner.

The other night I found a recipe online for Spicy Pork and Cashew Stir Fry with Red Pepper and Snow Peas. Something compelled me to look at the details, even though pork is not a meat that excites me. But I had just bought some snow peas, so you can see why I was drawn in. I reviewed the ingredient list. Soy sauce, check. Sesame oil, check. Ginger, garlic, sherry.. check, check, check. This was looking promising. Just a quick stop for a red bell pepper and some pork loin and I knew I would be good to go. And this time, I told myself, I had to follow through with it. No changing my mind, and no changing the recipe. It didn't matter if there was a better recipe somewhere out there. The simple fact is, there always will be. But a girl's got to eat and I couldn't let my constant indecisiveness stand in my way. And in fact, the good readers at Epicurious.com had given this recipe a 3.5 out of 4 rating. 96% of the 70 people who have reviewed the recipe said they would make it again. I knew I couldn't beat those odds. It was high time that I put my trust in the people.

Sometime around 3 am that same night, I found myself lying awake. After a period of tossing and turning, I decided to wander out to the living room. Not surprisingly it was dark, and there wasn't all that much going on. I wasn't sure what to do now that I was out of bed. All the tv programs are in German,and by 3am most of them involve naked girls. Fun for some, but not so much for me. So I turned on my trusty laptop, with all it's late night entertainment possibilities, and began to browse recipes. This is where I clinch ever so slightly with embarrasment. Yes, I am an exciting person, leading a very exciting life. In my defense I did also read the bbcnews website and caught up on some of the latest entertainment gossip. So there.

As I browsed the recipes my brain began to wander back to the never ending question of what I would make for dinner the following evening. It wasn't long before I remembered the Spicy Pork and Cashew stir fry with red peppers and snow peas. I felt somewhat disappointed. I had already picked something, where was the fun in that. And I couldn't surpress the thought that I had chicken in the fridge that needed to be eaten. It wouldn't make sense to buy pork, would it? And furthermore, it crossed my mind that yellow peppers would look far better than the red ones that the recipe called for.
Oh no, I thought. It was starting to happen again. Suddenly it was all changing. I began to sweat, images of pork and chicken, red and yellow peppers, fought for control of my brain. One part of me wanted to stay the course, the other part of me was looking forward to the recipe with my changes in my mind. Yellow and green! Oh so pretty! Finally, I relented. There was no fighting it. I could probably have ignored the chicken that should have been eaten, but I could not ignore the 'pretty factor'.

You can find the original recipe for Spicy Pork and Cashew Stir Fry with Red Peppers and Snow Peas) here from Epicurious.com, which, as I said earlier, received good reviews from many good people.

And here is my version:

Spicy Chicken and Cashew Stir Fry with Yellow Peppers and Snow Peas.

Oh, and I left out the cornstarch and sugar and replaced it with honey. (nervous giggle) And I only cooked 2 chicken breasts, making 2 servings. Somehow, the ratio of meat to vegetables still turned out quite acceptable. And I found that only a handful of cashews was necessary, not 1 full cup as is indicated in the original recipe. Phew. Now let's get started.

1 tablespoon medium-dry Sherry
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 chicken breasts
1 heaping teaspoon of honey
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes or 1 very small finely chopped red chile (seeds removed)
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
1 good handful of snow peas, trimmed
A handful of salted roasted cashews

Stir together sherry and 1 tablespoon soy sauce, then stir in sesame oil. Add chicken, stirring to coat well, and let stand 10 minutes. Stir together honey and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until a bead of water dropped on cooking surface evaporates immediately. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil, swirling wok to coat evenly, then stir-fry 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add bell pepper and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add snow peas and cashews and stir-fry until snow peas are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil in wok until just smoking, then stir-fry remaining ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry, separating strips, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Add vegetables and sweetened soy sauce, then stir-fry until vegetables are just heated through, about 1 minute more.

(instructions are copied from Epicurious.com with my variations added in)