Cashew Chickpeas

Tonight's meal was a Thai-inspired dish. Thai cooking is a balance of sweet, sour, hot, and salty, and I tend to lean towards the sweet/salty side since the kids dislike dishes that are too hot. If you have had non-vegan Thai food you know that fish sauce provides a distinctive flavour and saltiness to most dishes, a taste that can't really be replicated. But, some may consider the lack of anchovy water in food a good thing. Also complicating my endeavour tonight was the fact that I can't find dried chiles anywhere in this town. *sigh* But, the end result was pretty tasty, even if wasn't "real" Thai cooking.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 red pepper, diced

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 2 tbsp chili sauce or VH Szechuan sauce (or 2 dried red chiles--something to provide heat)

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

- juice of 1 lime

- 4 green onions, cut in 2" pieces

- 1 1/2 cup raw cashews

- cilantro for garnish

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Stir fry garlic (and dried chiles, if using) for 1 min. Add in chickpeas and red pepper and stir fry for 3-4 mins.

2. Add in sauces (feel free to adjust to your particular taste), lime juice, onions, and nuts and stir until heated through. Add some water if too dry. Garnish with coriander and serve.