C is for Cashew Nuts

C is for Cashew Nuts

These are the oddest looking nuts, growing out of the bottom of a fleshy plant. This is directly from Wiki The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple.

It can grow as high as 14 metres (46 ft), but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6 metres (20 ft), has proved more profitable, with earlier maturity and higher yields.

The cashew seed, often simply called a cashew, is widely consumed. It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or distilled into liquor.

The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications from lubricants to paints, and other parts of the tree have traditionally been used for snake-bites and other folk remedies.

Originally native to northeastern Brazil, the tree is now widely cultivated in Vietnam, Nigeria and India as major production countries.

In February I happened to watch a programme about Cashew Nuts, a programme called Food Unwrapped asks why cashews are never sold in their shells. The fruit part is edible straight from the tree and is supposed to have more Vitamin C than an orange. However, the nut is covered in a poisonous shell which could do serious damage to you. The natives burn the nuts in a pan of flames in order to remove the oils in the shell. Large producers do this by boiling the nuts, but it is now known that the shell yields useful derivatives as mentioned above.

I personally eat these nuts as they come from the store and don't usually cook with them, but this is A to Z.

Thai Chicken with Cashew Nuts
Recipe by:Shane Faz

AllRecipes

"A spicy, Thai style chicken dish with flavours of cashews, spring onions, and soy sauce. Serve over

rice."

4 servings

2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 ounces raw cashew nuts
2 fresh hot chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 1/8 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
5 tablespoons light soy sauce
5 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Add all ingredients to list

Heat sesame oil in a wok, and add cashews. Once brown, transfer cashews to a bowl. Set aside.
Add chile peppers to wok, and sir fry for 20 seconds. Stir in chicken, and season with pepper and salt to taste. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Stir in soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Stir in cashews and green onions, and stir fry for 2 minutes.


Have a great day