Cashew chicken, a delicious quick and easy stir fry dish like the ones you find in takeaway restaurants. Tender chicken, crunchy vegetables and rice in an insanely delicious homemade wok sauce. You’ll want to make this!
Homemade cashew chicken
The most delicious part of this cashew chicken is definitely the sauce. It’s a combination of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, sugar and rice vinegar and it gives the dish a perfect balance of flavors. It pairs perfectly with the rest of the dish and makes for a perfect weeknight dinner.
Another lovely stir fry recipe that is perfect for busy weeknights is this pad thai recipe or this Asian-inspired recipe for sweet and sour meatballs, they’re sooo good!
The best cashew chicken recipe
A tip to get the chicken buttery soft and super tender, just like in a Chinese restaurant, is as follows. It sounds a bit crazy, but try it. You’ll be amazed by the results! About 10-15 minutes before you start, put the chicken in a large bowl, add 2 teaspoons of baking soda and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Then rinse the chicken well with water to remove all the baking soda (if you don’t, the chicken will be really salty…) and marinate as described in the recipe. This technique is SO delicious and so easy to get super tender chicken when stir frying. I have been using this ‘trick’ for years and I highly recommend it!
Add green vegetables
This chicken cashew recipe is delicious with broccoli, but you could also use green beans, edamame, bimi (baby broccoli) or how about snow peas or green peppers? Whichever vegetable you choose, the cooking method is pretty much the same for all of them.
Just bring some water to the boil with a pinch of salt and blanch the vegetables until al dente for about 3-5 minutes before adding it to the stir fry. Enjoy this easy cashew chicken!
Ingredients
- 400 gram chicken breast (diced)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1½ tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 300 gram (green) vegetables
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
- 100 gram cashews (unsalted)
- 200 gram white rice
- oil, white pepper and salt
- optional: spring onion and/or sesame seeds to garnish
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Wok
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
- Cook the rice according to the instructions on the package.
- If necessary, first marinate the chicken in the baking soda as described in the article, rinse, pat dry and place in a large bowl with the corn starch and 1 tsp of rice vinegar. Leave to marinate for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put a saucepan filled with water and a pinch of salt on the heat and bring to the boil.
- Prepare the wok sauce ahead of time. Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, white pepper, sugar, ½ tsp rice vinegar, sesame oil and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix well.
- At the same time, blanche the vegetables for a few minutes until al dente.
- When the chicken is finished marinating, heat some oil in a wok and sauté the onion and ginger.
- Add the chicken, fry briefly and then add the sauce. Stir briefly and then add the vegetables. Finally, add the cashew nuts and mix well.
- Serve the chicken and vegetables with cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds or thin spring onion rings to taste. Enjoy your meal!
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