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    Home » Recipe » Snacks

    Spicy Garlic Cashew Crusted Kale Chips

    Published: Sep 4, 2014 · Modified: Oct 25, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    _DSC8544.jpg
    I've been sort of on a kale chip kick lately.

    It sort of came out of necessity. I've been receiving weekly deliveries of vegetables from my Siena Farms farm share, and kale regularly makes a showing. Although there are millions of ways to prepare kale, I like making chips because

    1) it's easy;

    2) Bryan really likes it; and

    3) it's a great snack.
    _DSC8540.jpg
    Usually I go the easy route: coat a tray full of ripped kale leaves with a little bit of oil (having a mister is really helpful!), add just a bit of salt and pepper (not too much, cuz the leaves shrink!), and bake.

    Earlier this year, Bryan brought home a bag of these really expensive store-bought raw kale chips from the Napa Farms Market at SFO. Even though the tiny bag cost $8 (!!), I fell in love with it and craved for more.
    _DSC2589.jpg
    An Example of a weekly farm share from Siena Farms - so colorful!

    The ingredient list included cashews, nutritional yeast, and red bell peppers. A quick search online revealed recipes very similar to the ingredients on the package. I longed to try making that version at home, except I was too lazy to figure out what "nutritional yeast" was, and where I could get it. Apparently, it gives a "cheesy" flavor in a vegan-friendly way.

    The other night, as I stared down yet another bunch of kale, I decided that it was finally time.

    I was going to conquer the cashew-crusted kale chip . . . on my own terms.
    _DSC8510.jpg
    I thought to myself, "it already tastes pretty good with just salt and oil. I bet if I crushed up some cashews and made a modified version it would still be pretty tasty."

    It just so happened I had received  a few jars of innovative sauces to test from The Saucey Sauce Company, a Brooklyn-based family-owned business from siblings Ken and Toan, who use Vietnamese fish sauce as a base for their creative and flavorful marinades and sauces.

    I threw a handful of roasted cashews that I had lying around (a big bulk container from Costco), half of a red bell pepper from my farm share, a few cloves of garlic, a splash of soy sauce, and a splash of Spicy Garlic sauce from The Saucey Sauce Company.

    I blended this in my food processor until it became a rough paste, and then using my hands, I mixed it in with the kale.
    _DSC8539.jpg
    After baking for about 20-30 minutes at 290 ° F (convection oven), out came these gorgeous, cashew encrusted chips.
    _DSC8542.jpg
    They were phenomenal.

    Fish sauce naturally has a lot of umami, and it added a lovely kick to this sauce. The chili wasn't too spicy, so it was easy to eat lots and lots of these chips (which is exactly what I did). Without the nutritional yeast, these did not taste "cheesy." Instead, they had a Southeast Asian bent - the deep, rich umami from the fish sauce, the soy sauce, and the garlic all made this taste Asian, which I loved.

    It's a bit more work, but I think it's totally worth it. These chips were fantastic.
    _DSC8545.jpg
    Notes
    I haven't tried making this with another sauce, but if you aren't able to get the spicy garlic sauce, you can try substituting with a mixture of straight up Vietnamese fish sauce, a touch of Sriracha or chili garlic sauce and a splash of lemon juice.

    Spicy Garlic Cashew Crusted Kale Chips
    1 cup cashews (I used roasted and salted)
    1 T Spicy Garlic Sauce
    1 T soy sauce
    ½ red bell pepper, cut into a few pieces
    1 bunch of kale leaves, torn into 2-3 inch pieces, ribs removed
    1-2 cloves of garlic (optional if your sauce has garlic in it)

    Combine cashews, red pepper, soy sauce, and spicy garlic sauce in a food processor and pulse until a paste is formed. Getting your hands dirty, rub the paste over the kale leaves. Place the kale leaves in single layer on baking sheets, and bake at 290 ° F with convection for 30 minutes, rotating tray at least once half way through.

    Serve!
    _DSC8543.jpg

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    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

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