A saucy chicken stir fry with cashews, this is a terrific combination of flavours. You’ll love how saucy this is, and how you can adapt this to your taste by using vegetables of choice. Try this with Hot and Sour Soup or Chinese Corn Soup with a side of Fried Rice for a homemade takeout experience!
This is takeout made at home that truly stacks up to your favourite Chinese restaurant. No false promises here! Just read some of the glowing reviews from the many people who have tried this.
You’ll have it on the table faster than ordering home delivery, it’s healthier (way less greasy!) and it’s versatile so you can add or switch the vegetables as you please. So much easier to just adapt this yourself rather than trying to explain what you want over the phone to your Chinese takeout place…… right??
Cashew chicken is simply a stir fry of chicken and cashews with a sauce that’s got a salty-sweet flavour profile. Many people might think of cashew chicken as a Chinese dish, and indeed China is where this dish originated. You can tell by the presence of sesame oil, which we don’t use very much of in Thai cooking.
The secret ingredient is Chinese Cooking Wine
Chinese Cooking Wine, also known as Shaoxing wine or Shaosing wine, is the secret ingredient that makes homemade Chinese food truly taste as good as take out.
It’s an alcoholic wine used for Chinese and other Asian cooking. Totally unpleasant to drink, salty, cheap as chips from Asian stores (~ $1.50 for a big bottle), lasts forever and you can read more about it here (if you’re so inclined).
While you’d never drink it straight, when used cooking, it completely transforms. It seasons the sauce, gives it depth of flavour and complexity, that “something something” to make it just like Chinese restaurants.
The best substitute is Mirin, or dry sherry – these produce virtually the same result. If you can’t consume alcohol, the best alternative is to substitute low sodium chicken broth for the water in the sauce.
Ingredients in Cashew Chicken
I promised quick and easy, and I exaggerate not! There’s not that many ingredients in the sauce (see photo above) nor in the stir fry itself (see below).
I like to use chicken thigh for stir fries because it’s juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I always tenderise it using a Chinese restaurant technique using baking soda (bi-carb). It’s super simple, see directions here: How to Velvet Chicken.
I make Cashew Chicken with green capsicum (bell peppers) and onion because they are the most common vegetables I’ve seen in Cashew Chicken. But feel free to add other vegetables into this. I’ve also seen it with red capsicum, celery, Asian Greens, broccoli, carrots and scallions/shallots.
Cashew Chicken is very straight forward to make and also very forgiving (especially if you use chicken thigh).
Mix the Sauce, use a bit to marinate the chicken just for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables, have a glass of wine, browse through the Asian Takeout recipe collection and think about all the other things you want to try one of these days…
When you’re ready to cook, have everything ready to go because it takes less than 5 minutes! Sauté garlic and onion (1 min), cook chicken and capsicum (3 min), add sauce, simmer 1 minute until thickens, serve over rice.
As with all my stir fries, this Cashew Chicken comes with plenty of sauce. There’s nothing sadder than when you’re left with a bowl of plain white rice with no sauce to eat it with. Right??!
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice!
The 15 Minute Cashew Chicken At Home
FAQ
What is cashew chicken sauce made of?
What does a cashew taste like?
Is cashew chicken actually Chinese?
What Flavour are cashews?
What does cashew chicken taste like?
This cashew chicken with tender stir-fried chicken and roasted cashews in garlic sauce tastes just like take-out. This cashew chicken, or stir-fried chicken with roasted cashews in garlic sauce, tastes just like take-out from your favorite Chinese restaurant. It’s easy to make at home.
Are cashews high in carbohydrates?
Cashews are relatively high in carbs, especially compared with other nuts like pecans or macadamia. They contain 30 grams of carbohydrates in one serving (100 grams) and have a glycemic index of 25. They do not significantly raise the blood sugar levees when eaten in moderate amounts, but they’re not the best-suited nut for the keto diet.
What is the secret to easy cashew chicken?
The real secret to easy cashew chicken is to make a great cashew chicken sauce, and that includes ginger, garlic, Chinese rice wine and hoisin sauce. Building these flavors together and adding sweet, crunchy nuts creates a cashew chicken sauce that tastes like your favorite restaurants’ classic dish.
What makes Chinese cashew chicken so special?
Easy, quick and delicious. What makes this Chinese cashew chicken truly special is the delicious and flavoursome glaze/coating around each piece of chicken. Not to mention the yummy sauce. Every bite is as flavoursome as the next, perfect with (and you’ve guessed it) freshly steamed rice!