Cashew Chicken should have CASHEWS

[Xanthia, Maker of fine Tin-foil hats since 2007]

OK, tho has happened to Jellybean twice, usually at the inexpensive restaurants, and I can swear that someone on the old board posted about this happening to them.  SO, if it has happened to you, or you know why it happens this way, please let me know.

Jellybean orders in lunch one day from a Chinese restaurant, he orders the Cashew Chicken, the order gets there, everyone gets theirs (everyone elses is correct) and he does not have cashew chicken, but CELERY CHICKEN, and he hates the texture of celery.  A few weeks later, he picks up take out on the way home from a different restaurant, and once again he orders Cashew Chicken, but gets Celery Chicken, he calls and complains and they insist that he DOES have Cashew Chicken, that is how they make it...with a bunch of Celery and no Cashews...

Why not call it Celery Chicken then?  and no, neither of the dishes had any cashews in them, and it happened twice at 2 different restaurants.

[Evil Duckie]

I learned something new today.

I really thought that you had to have cashews in the dish to call it Cashew chicken.

[Xanthia, Maker of fine Tin-foil hats since 2007]

In "regular" resturaunts, the dish DOES have cashews in it, LOL, it was these 2 times from inexpensive take out places where there was no cashews and an OVER abundance of celery.  My mind is just boggled and am trying to figure out if this is common practice in the less expensive places.

[Chartreuse]

They should call it "Cashew Suprise"... if you find a cashew, surprise!

Our local takeout spot does include cashews in the dish, and it's quite tasty.  We're quite satisfied with our takeout spot and hope they flourish. 

[kkl123]

and once again he orders Cashew Chicken, but gets Celery Chicken, he calls and complains and they insist that he DOES have Cashew Chicken, that is how they make it...with a bunch of Celery and no Cashews...

Why not call it Celery Chicken then?  and no, neither of the dishes had any cashews in them, and it happened twice at 2 different restaurants.

Because "celery chicken" isn't likely to sell, and cashews are $4.00/lb and celery about $0.60/lb, and since the dish usually has both celery and cashews...  ;-)

[kkl123]

I learned something new today.

I really thought that you had to have cashews in the dish to call it Cashew chicken.

No crab in crab rangoon....  just cream cheese, at least in 99.5% of its US incarnations.

Cashews are about $4/lb, celery is about $0.60/lb, and since the dish is usually made with both, I suspect dropping the cashews to make their pricepoint is about par for the course.

[Brentwood]

Yes, it certainly should have cashews! I can't think of any explanation for not having cashews in cashew chicken.

[Brentwood]

I learned something new today.

I really thought that you had to have cashews in the dish to call it Cashew chicken.

No crab in crab rangoon....  just cream cheese, at least in 99.5% of its US incarnations.

Cashews are about $4/lb, celery is about $0.60/lb, and since the dish is usually made with both, I suspect dropping the cashews to make their pricepoint is about par for the course.

Cashews are pretty expensive, but I would think there'd be laws about selling something called cashew chicken and not putting any cashews in it.

[Chartreuse]

That brings up an interesting question.  How does one get the flavor of cashews if one doesn't actually use cashews?  Do they have a cashews extract? 

[kingsrings]

There was a Dairy Queen where I lived that cut costs by making Oreo blizzards with a cheap, yucky knock-off brand of Oreo-like cookies, but they still called them Oreo blizzards. If Nabisco ever found out, then they would be in big trouble. They also served hamburgers made with about 95% soy instead of beef. I don't know if there are rules and regulations in place for that.

[Clara Bow]

Be glad it had chicken...the Chinese place on my campus sells tempura balls with sauce that they call sweet and sour chicken...there's way more breading than chicken and the little chicken that is there is questionable at best. I won't even get into the stray cat jokes....

[Brentwood]

Be glad it had chicken...the Chinese place on my campus sells tempura balls with sauce that they call sweet and sour chicken...there's way more breading than chicken and the little chicken that is there is questionable at best. I won't even get into the stray cat jokes....

I've been to Chinese places that have done that - lots of breading and tiny little pieces of chicken.

[Lunadiana75]

Well, count me as "one of the ignorant" who would assume that cashew chicken, had in fact, cashews in it.  Silly, silly me.

Reminds me of the time I once, ONCE, ordered from an Indian place for delivery. I requested curry vegetables, thinking it would be veg with curry.  Right?  No. It was some sort of wierd cream soup.  No veg or curry in sight.  I called, thinking they mixed up the order, and they insisted it was curry veg.  No, it's soup!  Long saga and much arguing that ended in me NEVER ordering from them again. 

[Gwywnnydd]

That brings up an interesting question.  How does one get the flavor of cashews if one doesn't actually use cashews?  Do they have a cashews extract? 

Probably they get the flavor by using 1 ounce of cashews (and several pounds of celery) in a multi-gallon batch of the stuff, which they ladle servings out of. Occasionally you're lucky enough to get a cashew, but the odds are you'll just get a teasing hint...

[MineralDiva]

<<<<They should call it "Cashew Suprise"... if you find a cashew, surprise!>>>

Bwaahaaaha!