Springfield Cashew Chicken

Posted online March 2, 2011 | 3:00 pm

The American South meets Chinese. Southern fried boneless chicken breast coated, fried, and then topped with a sweet-and-spicy oyster sauce. This recipe was made famous in Springfield, Mo., where you'll find a surprising number of Chinese restaurants for a city of its size.

Why Try? A small town in southwest Missouri became famous for this dish. Maybe you'll gain notoriety in your neck of the woods when you serve this East meets South dish.

Foodie Byte: Cornstarch is the secret to this coating.

Read our story about Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken

Ingredients

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
5 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
4 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 cups peanut oil for frying
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon chopped green onion for topping
1 cup cashew halves

Preparation

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.
In a shallow bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
In another dish beat eggs.
Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture, then eggs, and flour mixture again.
Heat peanut oil in a saucepan and deep fry coated chicken for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
In another medium saucepan heat broth to boiling. Add oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and white pepper.
Mix remaining 4 tablespoons cornstarch with a small amount of cold water in a cup. Stir cornstarch mixture slowly into broth mixture to thicken, cook for another 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
Pour sauce over fried chicken and top with cashews and green onion.
Serve with sauce to taste and steamed white rice or fried rice.

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