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PREPARE AHEAD:
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1. One at a time, bone, skin and slice the chicken breasts in the following fashion: Lay the whole chicken breast on its side on a chopping board.
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2. Holding the breast firmly in place with your hand, cut it with a cleaver or sharp knife lengthwise through the skin, along the curved breastbone.
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3. Carefully cut all the meat from the bones on one side of the breastbone. Then grasp the meat in one hand and pull it off the bones and away from the skin-using the cleaver to free the meat if necessary.
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4. Turn the breast over and repeat on the other side. Remove each tube shaped fillet from the boned breast meat, and pull out and discard the tendon in each fillet.
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5. Lay the breast meat and fillets flat and cut them lengthwise into ½-inch strips, then cut the strips crosswise to make ½-inch squares.
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6. Place the chicken squares in a large bowl and sprinkle them with cornstarch, then toss them about with a spoon to coat them lightly and evenly. Pour in the wine and soy sauce, and toss the chicken again to coat the squares.
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7. Place the above ingredients, and the oil, green pepper, water chestnuts, mushrooms, salt, hoisin sauce and cashews or almonds within easy reach.
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TO COOK:
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1. Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for about 30 seconds. Pour in a tablespoon of the oil, swirl it about in the pan and heat for another 30 seconds, turning the heat down to moderate if the oil begins to smoke.
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2. Immediately add the green peppers, water chestnuts, mushrooms and salt, and stir-fry briskly for 2 to 3 minutes. Scoop out the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set them aside on a plate.
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3. Pour the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil into the pan, heat almost to the smoking point and drop in the marinated chicken. Stir-fry over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken turns white and firm.
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4. Then add the hoisin sauce, stir well with the chicken, add the reserved vegetables and cook for 1 minute longer. Now drop in the cashews or almonds and stir to heat them through. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a heated platter and serve at once.
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