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Cashew Chicken combines tender bites of chicken with cashews and a medley of vegetables – all smothered in a dark and luscious sauce.
Cashew Chicken: A Favorite Take-out Dish
Cashew Chicken is on our family’s list just about every time we order Asian take-out food. We just love the tender bites of chicken and vegetables, and the crunchy cashews, all tossed in a silky and very flavorful sauce.
With our recipe today we share all of our tips and tricks so you can make this take-out classic dish at home for your family. And once you have the ingredients on hand, you can make delicious Cashew Chicken anytime the craving strikes!
Why you’ll love Cashew Chicken
- Our version is just as delicious as the dish served at your favorite Asian restaurant.
- This dish is quite easy to make – most of the prep time is spent marinating the chicken and chopping vegetables but the cooking time is quite fast.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken – We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts in our recipe today, but boneless skinless thighs can also be used.
- Cashews – Raw, unsalted whole cashews should be used in this recipe for the best texture.
- Marinade – You’ll need kosher salt, baking soda, corn starch, ground white pepper, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) or Mirin, and sesame oil.
- Sauce – Made from a mix of soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, corn starch, and water.
- Vegetables – Fresh garlic, fresh ginger, carrot, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and scallions are included in this dish.
- Peanut Oil – We recommend peanut oil both for flavor as well as its high smoke point. It won’t scorch as you stir-fry all the different ingredients in this recipe.
- Rice – For serving, white rice is traditional.
More About the Specialty Ingredients in this Recipe
- Dark Soy Sauce is a concentrated soy sauce with deep rich flavors. It is quite strong in taste, and it darkens any dish that includes it. We included dark soy sauce in the marinade to make the chicken cook up dark in color, plus it’s added to the sauce for a deep rich flavor. Try not to omit this important ingredient. Some supermarkets sell dark soy sauce, or you can buy it online here, or at a specialty Asian market.
- Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaoxing) is a rice wine with a unique flavor that is impossible to replicate by substituting other cooking wines. Mirin can be used instead, but it is a bit sweeter than Shaoxing. Many supermarkets and liquor stores sell Chinese cooking wine, as well as Mirin. Or buy it online here.
Special Tools Needed
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Large Wok
- Large Bowl – To marinate the chicken.
- Small Bowl – To mix the sauce.
- Large Bowl – To hold cooked ingredients as you cook in batches.
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Medium Spider Strainer or Wok Utensils – To cook and toss the various ingredients.
- Rice Cooker or Medium Saucepan with Lid – To cook the rice.
- Large Pan Lid – To steam the carrots in the wok.
How do I make Cashew Chicken?
- Begin cooking the rice – either in a rice cooker, or in a saucepan. Keep warm once cooked.
- Make the marinade, then marinate cut up chicken pieces for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
- Make the sauce and have it standing by.
- Cook cashews in a few tablespoons of peanut oil over medium heat until toasted. Remove quickly to a waiting large bowl using spider or perforated ladle.
- Add a little more oil to the wok and increase heat to high. Once very hot (a drop of water should sizzle and immediately evaporate when dropped in the oil), add half the chicken and stir fry until cooked. Move cooked chicken to the same bowl as the cashews. Add a little more oil and cook the second half of the chicken, again moving to the same bowl.
- Add remaining oil, then add garlic, ginger and carrots and stir fry for two minutes. Add two tablespoons of water and cover with a pan lid for two more minutes. Remove lid and cook until carrots are almost tender but still with a little crunch. Let the water evaporate while cooking.
- Add the green and red bell peppers and stir fry for a few minutes until just starting to soften but still crisp when tested.
- Add the scallion whites, and the cooked cashews and chicken from the bowl and toss.
- Whisk the sauce one last time and pour into the wok. Toss to coat and allow the sauce to thicken a bit.
- Remove the wok from the heat and pour out onto a serving platter. Top with the scallion greens.
- Serve immediately with white rice.
Tips & Tricks
- As with most Asian stir fry type dishes, all ingredients must be measured out and ready before starting to cook. This recipe cooks quickly so everything must be ready ahead. Read Cook Like a Pro with Mise en Place.
- To cut the peppers into diamond shapes, cut two-inch wide strips then start turning your knife back and forth on an angle as you cut, so each piece is cut into a diamond shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Cashew Chicken ahead of time? Yes, you can. But – since this dish cooks very quickly to start with, you would be better off getting the ingredients prepped and measured out. When you are ready to eat, stir fry the dish as stated in the recipe and serve freshly cooked.
- How do I store leftovers? Store covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Stir fry to reheat, or reheat individual portions in the microwave.
- Can I freeze Cashew Chicken? We don’t recommend it. The vegetables will become soggy once frozen and thawed.
You might like these other Asian Recipes:
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Cashew Chicken
Cashew Chicken combines tender bites of chicken with cashews and a medley of vegetables – all smothered in a dark and luscious sauce.
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into pieces about 3/4–1 inch in size
Marinade
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) or Mirin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sauce
2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
1 tablespoon corn starch
5 tablespoons water
Other ingredients
6 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
1 1/2 cups whole unsalted raw cashews
6 medium-to-large garlic cloves, each clove quartered
1 one-inch-piece of ginger, sliced into small strips
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small to medium size slices on the bias
2 tablespoons water
1 large red bell pepper, cut into two-inch wide strips, then strips cut into diamond shapes *see Tips in post above
1/2 large green bell pepper, cut into two-inch wide strips, then strips cut into diamond shapes
6 large scallions, whites and green sliced and separated
Instructions
- This dish is all about the preparation. Every ingredient must be prepared and ready before you begin.
- If you are serving this dish with white rice as we did, start cooking that now. Typically, white rice is 2-1 ratio (two parts water to one part rice), so with two cups of raw rice, use four cups of water. Make sure you thoroughly rinse the rice of starch before cooking.
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and add the cut-up chicken. Finish prepping the other ingredients while the chicken marinates. It only needs to marinate for fifteen minutes.
- Make the sauce by mixing everything in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large wok over medium heat, add two tablespoons of peanut oil and once hot, add the cashews. Toss and stir continually so they don’t burn and once golden, remove to a large bowl with the spider or slotted ladle.
- Add a little more oil and raise the heat to high. Once smoking hot, add half the chicken and toss and stir until browned and cooked. Remove to the same bowl as the cashews. Repeat with a little more oil and the remaining chicken, also placing that in the bowl.
- Add the remaining oil and add the garlic and ginger along with the carrots. Stir fry for two minutes then add the water and cover with a pan lid for two minutes. Remove the lid and stir fry to evaporate the water and finish cooking the carrots. They should be tender but still with some crunch.
- Add the red and green bell peppers and cook for a few minutes, tossing often. Once they are just starting to soften but still crunchy, add the scallion bottoms and toss, then add the chicken and cashews back in and toss again.
- Give the sauce a final stir then add to the wok and toss until thickened and coated. If too thick, add one or two more tablespoons of water.
- Remove from the heat and serve with white rice and a few scallion tops sprinkled over each portion, or over the platter if that is how you will be serving.
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