Man realizes secret to Cashew Chicken

Springfield, MO – “I’m just beside myself” declares area high school football coach Grant Llewellyn. “I grew up here in Springfield and I’ve always been led to believe that cashew chicken is a rare and incredibly exotic dish that one could only have prepared by highly trained and secretive master chefs of The Ozarks. This just sucks.”
The discovery came about when Mr. Llewellyn tried to impress some out of town guests by taking them to the Yummy Panda Tiger Bowl and insisting that they order the local specialty – “Special Fancy Combo #1″. “I told them, make sure you request ‘all-white’ meat, since everyone around here knows that if you don’t, you’ll end up with cat on your plate.” When the order arrived at the table of honor, Mr. Llewellyn’s guests inquired as to what made the meal so special. “It got me to thinking, well….you have your chicken, of course, then there’s them fancy onions AND the cashew nuts on top. And of course, the cashew sauce.”

His guests were not as impressed as he would have hoped, and this upset Coach Llewellyn, who proceeded to conduct some serious research: he went to Wikipedia. “Imagine my surprise when I found out that our most heralded cuisine is little more than fried chicken in oyster gravy. I was devastated. So crushed, in fact, I took a personal day, and our football team had to forfeit the game that night.”

The only way that the coach has been able to console himself is with the knowledge that there certainly IS one dish locals can be proud to call their own: Sweet & Sour Chicken. “I’d like to see those fancy out-of-towners try and debunk THAT one!” Mr. Llewellyn said as he hitched his belt up over his stomach and marched out to the practice field.

Springfield Chefs Unveil Cashew Turkey for the Holidays

Springfield, MO—This Thanksgiving several restaurants in the Ozarks will feature a new holiday treat, cashew turkey. This offering consists of a simple Chinese-American dish that combines breaded deep-fried turkey, cashews, and a thick gravy sauce. Side options include a cranberry dipping sauce or mashed potatoes.

Several leading chefs, from bygone restaurants such as Leong’s Tea House, Gee’s East Wind and Master Wong’s, were assembled to create the sacred dish and met in secret for months to perfect the recipe. Springfield-style cashew turkey will be served in their honor this weekend at participating restaurants.

The meal will be served at over 70 Chinese restaurants on Thursday, as well as many non-Chinese restaurants, in and around the Springfield metropolitan area, and elsewhere in Missouri and other states.

David Leong, 89, oversaw the recipe development and says this menu item will “suit the palates of Midwesterners with Chinese tastes at Thanksgiving.” Leong developed Springfield-style cashew chicken and first served it in 1963 at the Grove Supper Club in Springfield. Leong’s creation became exceedingly popular in the Springfield area and is often cited as the unofficial “dish of the city”.