Stir fry is a magical vehicle in our house for delivering vegetables to my kids. If I put a pile of peppers and green beans next to a main dish on a plate, there's almost no chance they'll be eaten without a lot of prodding. If they are mixed with a protein and coated in a savory sauce, however, they disappear! I'm featuring a recipe today for a stir fry that has the added bonus of fruit and nuts, which make the stir fry just that much more attractive for our family.
Like most of my Thai-inspired recipes, this stir fry is based off of a dish I used to get at my favorite Thai lunch spot when I was working in South San Francisco. I would usually switch between getting it with tender chicken or fried tofu cubes, and it was delicious either way. My recipe has fish sauce, so without a good substitute it won't be vegetarian but I still like the tofu version. There are also celery pieces and water chestnuts, two vegetables that don't really get featured in my typical stir fry. The whole thing is finished off with sweet mango chunks (often from frozen) and cashews. Served alongside rice, you get a great variety of textures and a sweet-savory combination that almost never leaves leftovers.
Once you have your ingredients chopped up and ready to go, this meal comes together in about 10 minutes. If you are planning to serve it with rice, get that part going before you start the stir fry or you'll be waiting on the rice!
Recipe
Cashew Nut Mango Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir Fry Components
- 14 oz firm tofu, drained and pressed and then cut in 1" cubes (or 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breasts cut into 1" pieces.)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups celery ( sliced on the bias into 1" pieces, about three stalks of celery)
- 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts (sliced)
- 1½ cups mango (diced, fresh or frozen and thawed)
- ¼ cup cashews (halves or whole cashews both work)
Sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar (packed)
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1½ teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sambal oelek (optional, add as much as you'd like)
Instructions
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve the cornstarch.
- Heat skillet on medium-high heat and fry cubed tofu until golden on all sides. For chicken, stir fry until cooked through and all moisture has evaporated. Remove the chicken or tofu to a separate plate.
- Add water chestnuts and celery to the skillet and stir fry for 3 minutes or so, until the celery starts to get tender.
- Add stir-fry sauce, mangoes, cashews, and the tofu or chicken you set aside earlier to the skillet.
- Stir fry for 1-2 minutes longer, heating the sauce until it boils and thickens.
- Serve the stir fry over rice.
Notes
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts caculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Nutrition Facts
I'd love to hear your thoughts!