Slice chicken into ½ inch wide (1 cm) strips, then into bite-size lengths. Toast nuts by spreading out in a frying pan set over medium heat and stir often until they just start to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn onto a plate. Toss with a generous pinch of salt and chili powder.

Prepare remaining ingredients before starting to cook. Thinly slice pepper, then cut into bite-size lengths. Cut zucchini into julienne strips. Thinly slice celery and the white part of the green onions. Thickly slice the green portion.

Mince garlic and ginger. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch with sherry until dissolved. Then stir in soy, hoisin and rice wine vinegar.

To cook, heat canola oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir constantly until it loses its pink color, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chicken broth, 1 tsp (5mL) chili powder, red chili pepper flakes and ½ tsp (5 mL) salt. Stir occasionally for 2 minutes. Add all the vegetables and stir another 2 minutes.

Pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir almost constantly until vegetables are done as you like and sauce is coating chicken, about 3 minutes. Mix in half the cashews. Then spoon over rice and scatter with remaining nuts.