Chicken Stir-Fry with Mangoes and Cashews

It's night two of our Asian-themed dinners.  Tonight's stiry fry is Thai influenced.  This recipe is based on a recipe from Green Mangoes and Lemon Grass by Wendy Hutton.  The original included a diced tomato thrown in at the end. 

I cooked extra rice tonight to have cold on-hand for tomorrow night's fried rice dish. 

Chicken Stir-Fry with Mangoes and Cashews (Serves 4)
1 lb chicken breast, sliced thinly
3-4 T oil
1 mango sliced
1/4 c cashews
3 T fish sauce/ 1 t anchovy paste + 2 T water + 1 T Worcestershire + 1 t sugar
1 t lime juice
1/2 t salt
1 t sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
7-8oz snow peas/sugar snap peas

1. Heat oil in heavy skillet/ wok.  Add chicken in batches and cook through.  Reserve.
2. Mix together fish sauce (or substitute), lime juice, salt, and sugar.  Set aside.
3. Leave about 1 T oil in the pan, add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook til fragrant. 
4. Add peas, chicken, and sauce.  Cook another few minutes.
5. Add cashews and mango.  Cook 30 seconds to warm through.

Serve over rice.

The Verdict:  B+
I had to make some substitutions -- there were no decent mangos so we used fresh yellow peaches (that were not particularly ripe).  Mango would have been much better.   Also I was using frozen sugar snap peas that had been lurking in my freezer for eons and were WAY past their prime.   Then, of course, there was my "fish sauce".  I think our fish sauce we used to have was soy-free, but the last couple times I used it DH seemed to have a reaction to it, so I was faking it tonight.  I think my formulation still needs some work.

I wasn't entirely happy with my sauce. I think next time I'll add some lime zest and maybe finish it off with some fresh cilantro/basil.  DH doctored his by adding some soy sauce and some leftover Thai chili sauce from our take-out Friday night. 

The basic elements were good, it just needs a little polishing I think.  I'll definitely make it again in the near future.  We used to do Asian stir fry all the time before soy sauce became a no-go for us.