Thursday, July 7, 2011

Bok Choy with Cashews



I was lucky enough to get some greens from Beth's Farm, and I decided to make the bok choy with an Asian flair. Cashews are my newfound love - when I was a kid I thought I didn't like nuts, and slowly over the years have been introducing them to my diet; this summer I discovered that I love cashews! Packed with protein, magnesium, and iron, these nuts pack a quick energy punch and indulge cravings with monounsaturated fat that give the buttery rich taste. Cashews are typical in Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisine, mixed into sauces and used as crunchy garnishes, an excellent way to add protein to a vegetarian dish. I've just gone nuts for cashews! (Terrible pun intended.)


Here's my Bok Choy with Cashews recipe:


Ingredients

Cashews (to taste - I used about half a cup)

Bok choy (1 head per serving)

Bunch green onions (2-3 per head of bok choy)

Few tsp. peanut oil

Few tsp. minced garlic

Splash of sesame oil

Pinch of hot chili paste (I used , authentic Asian)

1/2 tsp. soy sauce (I'm not a huge fan of soy)

Sesame seeds (to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1) Toast cashews in a dry pan on medium-low heat until the nuts are fragrant. I used raw cashews (unsalted allows you to control the level of sodium in the dish) and toasted them for about 20 minutes and then removed them from the pan. Toast the sesame seeds as well if preferred.
2) Add the peanut oil to the pan and chopped scallions, including both the greens and the whites. Once the scallions are getting soft, add the minced garlic to the pan.
3) Wilt the boy choy into the pan, roughly chopped, adding splash of sesame oil, soy and hot chili paste. Toss with tongs to coat bok choy evenly in oil and mix around seasoning.
4) Turn heat down to low and cover, cooking for a minute. Add cashews and sesame seeds back to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!

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