Cashew Seitan With Rice and Spring Rolls.

I tell you what, we’ve made good use out of our newest library find, The Chinese Takeout Cookbook!

Tonight’s dish was the second one we’ve whipped up from said cookbook in short order, and like this meal’s predecessor, the cashew seitan turned out beautifully.  I think I’m finally getting the hang of stir-frying after all these years!  The secret is in the high heat; you can’t be timid and try cooking at medium-low when medium-high is what it takes to get the job done. 

Like so many other Asian dishes, this cashew chicken recipe (posted here on the New York Daily News website) was easily veggie-cized.  I’m developing a much-too-late-in-the-game adoration of seitan, one of those vegetarian staples that’s been around forever but hasn’t had a presence in my refrigerator much until very recently.  I tell you what, I won’t let that seitan out of my sight again!  It’s so meaty and can be substituted for both beef and chicken in the right circumstances.  In tonight’s meal, it filled in for chicken wonderfully – so much so that LeeLee firmly believes meat-eaters would never know the difference.  We may have to test his theory sometime soon! ;)

At any rate, the longest part of the cooking time was getting the rice ready in the rice cooker.  While it steamed, I prepared the marinade and plunked the seitan in for a little bath, then set to work on getting my sauce put together and the onion and garlic chopped.  (I made a tactical error and neglected to purchase a bell pepper from the grocery store and/or market – but the dish wasn’t hurt any by its absence.)  Then I put several frozen spring rolls in the oven to bake and waited for the rice to be nearly finished.

When nearly all the water was gone from the rice cooker, I swirled a touch of vegetable oil in my best wok-like frying pan, then threw the garlic in for a quick cook.  Next I added the seitan, let it cook through, and tossed in the chopped onion.  Once it became slightly translucent, I added the sauce, and, finally, the cashews right before I turned off the stove.  Think about it – the entire entrée, ready in 7 minutes!  Amazing.  I love stir-frying, now that I know how to do it right!

The one thing I’ll tweak the next time I use this recipe is the kind of cashew I add.  These were lightly salted, per the recipe, but combined with the soy sauce I felt the dish ended up just a little bit too sodium-filled for my taste.  Next time I’ll get the unsalted version, and I’m sure the pairing will be perfect.  Tonight’s meal wasn’t bad by any means, but we could all stand a little less salt, right?

At any rate, this was a fantastic meal that took less time than if we’d ordered from a “real” Chinese restaurant.  I’m already looking forward to our next meal from the cookbook – and hope you will too!

:)