Best Cashew Chicken, a delicious nut based chicken recipe. Soft pieces of chicken, crunchy bell peppers, nuts, coated in relishing sauce. Sweet, savory and salty profile in one dish. The stir fry sauce flavor is spot on and ties everything together perfectly. Simple stir fry to make on busy weeknights. Leftovers taste awesome on top of some plain cooked rice making THE BEST lunch box item too.
The sauces are basic pantry items that you might be having already have on hand. Keep the chicken and veggies ready and you can make this chicken dish in a jiffy say 15-20 minutes.
Spicy cashew chicken Cheesecake Factory style may be the ultimate favorite of many people it is very easy to achieve the same results and more quantity at home for half the price. The recipe for cashew chicken usually has a lot of salty and acidic sauces which definitely tastes good. But make it healthy above all less greasy by going easy on the quantity of sauce and oils instead add colorful veggies.
JUMP TO
- Best kept secrets
- Ingredients and substitutes
- Recipe FAQs
- Steps for cooking best cashew chicken
- Points to note while making cashew chicken
- Serving and storage
- Popular recipes
Best kept secrets :
- For getting tender chicken breast is marinate with soy sauce + a tbsp of water at least 20 minutes. This becomes like a brine.
- Do not cook chicken breast on extremely high heat. The chicken becomes tough and flavorless. Use thigh meat for this technique.
- Chicken and garlic are proven good combination. Make sure to crisp up the slices for extreme flavor.
- It is equally important keep everything ready before you begin to avoid burning of ingredients.
- Add corn starch gives best results when the chicken is coated in the flour just before stir frying. The thinnest dusting gives crispy outer layer. The more you add thicker it becomes, almost like a batter fried thick coating appears.
- Best way to use up nuts at the bottom of the roasted nuts tin no one likes too salty nuts.
Ingredients and substitutes:
- Chicken breast : Use chicken thighs or thinnest strips of other meats too.
- Corn starch makes the meat crisp on the outside and soft inside.
- Bell pepper and spring onion adds a crunch and color to the brown dish.
- Cashew nut well roasted is the star of this dish. Add roasted peanut tastes good in this recipe.
- Sauce :
- Most asian sauce combinations that have high spicy acid flavors work well in this recipe.
- Honey adds the much required shine and syrupy ness when it mixes with corn starched chicken.
- Fried whole red chilies adds so much aroma and flavor to the chicken without the heat. Make sure you do not stir the chilies in the dish but use the fried oil and garnish in the end. Remember once it breaks the heat kicks in fast.
Cashew chicken recipe FAQs
it is a popular American take out from the Asian restaurants. A comfort food that is spicy and loaded with flavor. The chicken is tender, the bell pepper and cashews are crunchy with a prefect sweet salty sauce.
Home made cashew chicken with least amount of oil is definitely a healthy choice. It has the much needed protein, colorful bell pepper is rich in antioxidants.Cashew added raw is plant based protein with heart healthy fat. Just don't douse the chicken in salty sauces but use in moderation for taste.
Cooking chicken on stove top with minimal oil is the best technique to make cashew chicken at home with minimal effort.
The origin may be unclear but Thai cashew chicken and Chinese cashew chicken are variations this recipe but the basic technique used is the same of stir fry with sauce. The ingredients may vary here and there.
Points to note while making cashew chicken :
- The chicken pieces should be cut into very small pieces so the flavors seep in fast and it crisps up easily.
- The soy sauce breaks down the protein in the chicken and seeps into the fibers parts of the meat this makes the meat flavorful and tender.
- Corn starch should be added just before cooking for extra crispy pieces. Do not mix and keep this for long.
- The cashew should be roasted to get the best flavor. Do not add raw cashew to the dish directly.
- Oil fried whole red chilies adds so much aroma and flavor to the chicken without the heat. Make sure you do not stir the chilies in the dish but use the fried oil and garnish in the end. Remember once it breaks the heat kicks in fast.
Steps on how to cook best cashew chicken :
This is a very versatile recipe where you can add more sauces if you like a sauce covered chicken but I feel less is more.
Add corn starch just before frying for a crispy end result.
Serving and storage :
SERVE : Serve cashew chicken with plain rice, fried rice or steamed broccoli or bok choy. Mushroom rice , Easy sautéed kale
STORAGE : Store leftover in an airtight container and refrigerate unto 3 days. Put on top of rice and take in an insulted lunch box. Microwave to reheat.
MAKE AHEAD : Marinate the chicken and refrigerate in airtight container ahead of time( previous day).
Other popular nut based chicken recipes to try from this blog:
Pasta chicken with peanut butter dressing , White chicken curry
Other cashew recipes to try : Mango cashew dipping sauce , Cashew nut burfi (Sweet)
Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breast 2 cut into small pieces
- Bell pepper - both colors 1/2 to 1 each
- 1 tbsp Corn starch For dusting the chicken
- 3/4 cup Cashew nut
- 2-3 Spring onion sliced
Sauce
- 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp Honey
- 4-5 cloves Garlic cloves
- 1-2 tbsp Sesame oil
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Optional
- 1/2 of 1 Red onion cut into cubes
- 5-6 Whole dry red chili fried until crisp
- 1 tbsp Rice vine vinegar
Instructions
- Cut chicken into small pieces.Marinate the chicken pieces with 1 tsp of soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp of water for 20 minutes.
- Add freshly cracked black pepper and salt (if required)to corn starch . Just before baking throw the chicken into the cornflour mix and allow this to coat the chicken. Dust off excess.
- On a lined tray grease with vegetable oil and arrange the chicken in one single layer and bake for 15 minutes at 375 - 390 F. (Allow this to be cooked and brown not dry)Bake the cashew to golden brown in another tray (Do not let it become too brown.Mix all the sauces and ready to go.
- When the chicken is ready heat sesame oil add the garlic pieces when this becomes golden and fragrant add the sauce give it a minute to heat up then add peppers give it 1/2 a minutes then add the baked chicken toss well until coated,1/2 the chopped spring onion and 1/2 the cashews toss well and transfer on to a serving tray and the remaining cashew on top and the spring onion too.
- Serve cashew chicken with plain rice, fried rice or cooked broccoli or bok choy. Mushroom rice , Easy sautéed kale
Notes
- The chicken pieces should be cut into very small pieces s
- Corn starch should be added just before cooking for extra crispy pieces.
- The cashew should be roasted to get the best flavor.
Do give this cashew chicken a try and let me know.
Meena
Janice
This chicken is my current favorite.
elephantsncoconuttrees
Thank you Janice for the kind words.