Cashew Nut StirFry

A good Thai Curry is definitely one of my all-time favourite meals. I also love a good stirfry full of different brightly coloured vegetables. Meatless Monday had me on my toes again and I was running low on ideas so  what started off as a good old stir-fry (but looking a bit dull) soon got doused in some Thai curry flavours and became something very unusual but totally delicious. This recipe could be a bit time consuming with all the batch cooking but the end result is definitely worth it. Prawns or Chicken could be added in place of the Cashews.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 Carrots, Cut into Strips.
100g Baby Corn.
200g Tender Stem Broccoli.
200g Green Beans, Trimmed and Halved.
1 tbsp. Peanut Oil.
250g Plain Unsalted Cashews.
2 tbsp.Sesame Oil
400g Pad Thai Noodles.
2 tbsp. Fish Sauce.
2 Cups Shredded Cabbage.
1 Red Onion, Sliced.
100g Mangetout.
One Red Pepper, Sliced.
One Yellow Pepper, Sliced.
3 tbsp. Oyster Sauce
Half a Tin Coconut Milk.
1 tbsp. Red Curry Paste.
1 heaped tsp. Bottled Chopped Ginger.
1 heaped tsp. Bottled Chopped Garlic.

Method
1) Place the broccoli, green beans, baby corn and carrots in a microwave-friendly dish with a quarter cup of water and a pinch of salt. Place a lid on the bowl and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Pour off the water and set aside.
2) In a large wok, heat the peanut oil on medium heat and lightly toast the cashews until golden brown. Remove the cashews and set aside
3) Add half the sesame oil to the wok and stir -fry the phad Thai noodles for 2 minutes. Add the fish sauce and stir through. Remove the noodles from the wok and set aside.
4) Add the remaining sesame oil to the wok. Add the red onion, cabbage, mangetout and peppers and stir-fry until the vegetables start to wilt. Add the oyster sauce and gently stir it through
5) Add the steamed veggies to the wok along with the noodles and toasted cashews and toss together (don't overdo it or else the noddles and veggies mush together). Turn off the stove and leave the wok to stand on the hot plate.
6) In a coffee-mug, mix together the coconut milk, curry paste, ginger & garlic and microwave on for 3 minutes.
7) Pour the hot coconut milk mixture over the vegetables and stir through. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.