Chicken and Cashew Nut Wok Toss

Stir-fries have a reputation for being fast, and that is the whole point of this one. The trick is cooking the chicken on its own first. Thin slices of thigh brown quickly and can turn dry if they sit in a crowded pan with the vegetables, so lifting them out and returning them at the end keeps them tender and gives the sauce something savoury to cling to.

Cashews are a good choice here because they are one of the few nuts that stay pleasantly soft-crunchy rather than going papery when they meet heat. Adding them right before serving, as the method suggests, is what keeps that bite. If you make extra, toast a handful dry in a small pan for a minute or two, let them cool, and keep them in a jar. They are lovely over rice the next day or scattered on a bowl of plain noodles.

Fresh ginger is doing a lot of quiet work in the sauce. Grate it on a fine grater and let the pulp fall into the hot oil, then smell the pan before the vegetables go in. You will know it is ready when the kitchen smells bright and a little sweet. Keep the capsicum and carrot on the thicker side of thin so they hold up, and don't walk away from the pan during those four minutes.

Leftovers reheat well in a hot pan with a splash of water, though the snow peas will soften a bit more. I would eat it within a day or two and stir in fresh spring onion before serving.

For a meal around it, I like a bowl of steamed rice or a simple cabbage slaw. If you want something cool and crisp on the side, a crunchy bean sprout and basil salad matches the texture nicely. For something lighter to start, crisp vegetable and vermicelli rice paper rolls are a good companion, since they share the same fresh vegetables and make the table feel generous without much extra work.