Sweet Chili Lime Cashews
Skillet cashews glazed with sweet chili and soy, made at home and carried in a hard container.
- calories
- 260
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 163
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 13 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Raw cashews | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral oil | 1 tbsp | canola or a dropper bottle of whatever you carry |
| Sweet chili sauce | 2 tbsp | packets or a small squeeze bottle |
| Soy sauce | 1 tsp | single-serve packets weigh nothing |
| Dried lime zest | 1/2 tsp | zested and dried at home, or one fresh lime if you are car camping |
| Garlic powder | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Set a skillet over a camp stove on medium or over settled coals. Tall flames will scorch this.
Nuts are the densest calories you can carry, and this is a way to make a cup of them interesting enough to actually eat. The sugar in the sweet chili sauce is what does the work: heated in the pan it reduces onto the cashews and sets as a thin shell when they cool. That shell is also why the timing matters. Pull them a minute late and the sugar goes bitter.
The original calls for fresh lime zest. Zest dried at home is the trail version and keeps the citrus without carrying a lime. Zest goes in off the heat either way, since direct heat kills the bright part. Moisture is the enemy after that: cool the batch completely before it goes in a container, keep it out of the cooler, and it stays crisp for the trip.
Packing
Cashews in a rigid container, not a bag, or you arrive with crumbs. Sauce and soy ride in packets or a leakproof bottle so they cannot wet the nuts in transit. If you cook the batch at home, let it cool all the way before sealing.
Variations
- Swap in peanuts to cut the cost by half. Almonds work but stay harder in the middle.
- A pinch of chili flakes if the sweet chili sauce is on the mild side.
- No skillet? Toast the cashews dry in a pot, kill the heat, and stir the sauce in off the flame. Less glaze, same idea.
https://camprecipes.com/sweet-chili-lime-cashew-crunch