Chinese Buffet All-in-One Entree by Lisa Messinger on Creators.com

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Chinese Buffet All-in-One Entree

I was scouring the online menu at upscale restaurant chain P.F. Chang's trying to remember the chicken dish we had ordered the last time because it was very good. Even though it has only been a few months, I've probably had 20 other Asian restaurant chicken dishes since then, so it was not popping immediately to mind. However, even though it didn't have a colorful Chinese icon next to it on the menu denoting "new dish," one selection did jump out to me: Almond and Cashew Chicken.

Just one word stopped me in my tracks: almond.

In all my years, from growing up exposed to the Chinatowns and take-out havens of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, nothing but a cashew had ever passed my lips. Now, these were smiling lips, as the buttery rich cashew is my favorite nut and I also thought it tasted especially good swimming in the light sauce that usually is part of the traditional Cashew Chicken on almost every menu.

What kind of mayhem was this? Mixing the barkier almond with the velvety cashew? Was this blasphemy — or just a blast?

It was, in fact, just a wise addition that also involved turning what is often a meal that includes not much more than diced celery in a modest chicken stock-oyster sauce-soy sauce to a slightly more jazzed up affair featuring stir-fried bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, along with the celery, in a flavorful garlic soy sauce.

Still, what was most intriguing was the combo of the two nuts where there is usually only one. The floodgates had opened. I was staring at the menu imagining other tradition breakers. How about Orange and Lemon Chicken rather than the single-item selections and their thick, sweet sauces usually offered? Or Sweet and Sour Pork and Trout? Or Beef and Broccoli and Pineapple?

Soon, I was researching and experimenting. It's official: I do like my Chinese buffet all within one entree. If you, too, would like to expand beyond the usual borders of your dinner plate, try these for inspiration:

SPICY ALMOND AND CASHEW CHICKEN

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth

3/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one-inch pieces

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 1/2 cups fresh snow peas

2 medium carrots, julienned

1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/4 cup unsalted cashews, toasted

1/4 cup unsalted almonds, toasted

4 servings hot cooked rice for serving (optional)

Yields 4 servings.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, sherry or broth and 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil; add the chicken.

Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/3 cup broth until smooth. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, hoisin sauce, ginger, salt and remaining soy sauce and sesame oil; set aside.

Drain chicken and discard marinade. In a large nonstick wok or skillet, stir-fry chicken in 1 teaspoon of oil until no longer pink and fully cooked through. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, stir fry peas and carrots in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Add water chestnuts.

Return chicken to the pan. Stir sauce mixture and stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Sprinkle with cashews and almonds and toss gently. Serve with rice if desired. —Adapted from TasteOfHome.com

HONG KONG SWEET AND SOUR TROUT & PORK

2 medium trout (about 8 ounces each), dressed

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup store-bought or homemade sweet & sour sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

3 cooked pork chops, meat cut into cubes, hot for serving

2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops

Yields 4 servings.

Score both sides of trout with 3 diagonal slashes 1/4-inch deep and 1 inch apart. Combine cornstarch, salt and pepper. Coat trout with mixture, shaking off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Carefully add trout; cook 6 to 7 minutes.

Carefully turn trout over; pour remaining 1 tablespoon oil around edges of pan. Cook 6 to 7 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.

Meanwhile, blend sweet and sour sauce, 1/4 cup water and sugar in small saucepan. Remove trout to serving platter and keep warm.

Heat sweet and sour sauce mixture over medium-high heat until hot, stirring occasionally.

To serve: Place trout surrounded by pork on serving platter. Pour half of sauce over trout and pork and sprinkle green onions over the sauce. Pass remaining sauce. —Adapted from KikkomanUSA.com —Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.