Juicy chicken and crunchy fried cashews in a savory coating, along with hot chilies – this Thai dish will be an absolute revelation if you’ve never tried it before.
Adding cashews to a dish almost feels like a cheat code.
The Chef
This is one of those recipes best prepared in a wok over an open flame. Make sure to have everything portioned and chopped so it’s ready to throw in when you need it. Things move fast once the heat is on. If you don’t have an open flame setup, a round-bottom wok on an electric stove will work okay, but (at the very least) take longer.
Cashew Chicken is best served with rice. I only had Basmati handy this time around, but the default choice would be Jasmine rice.
Cashew Chicken
Adding cashews to a dish almost feels like a cheat code.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 200 g Jasmine rice (pre-cooked amount) for serving
Stir-fry
- 250 g chicken thighs boneless & skinless
- 70 g cashews raw & unsalted
- 1 onion small
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 stalks green onions
- 1 red chili pepper desired spiciness
- 2-3 tbsp neutral oil
Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar white
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Deseed the chili pepper and thinly slice it. Set aside a few slices for garnish at the end.
- Separate the and white parts of the green onion, then thinly slice both.
- Finely mince the garlic and slice the onion into thin wedges.
- Slice the chicken into thin strips (about 1 cm thick).
- If you make rice on the side, get it started now at the latest.
Stir-fry
- Turn the heat on the wok to medium. Add the oil and give it a minute to heat up.
- Add cashews and cook for 3-4 minutes until they take on a dark golden color.
- Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and store them on some paper towels to absorb the oil.
- Turn the heat up to high. Throw in garlic and onion and fry until lightly browned. Be careful as the garlic easily burns.
- Add the chicken and cook until it's white on its whole surface. No need to brown it.
- Add white part of green onions as well as chili slices. Stir-fry for another minute or two.
- Add the sauce and cook until it reduces down to a thicker, syrupy consistency. This should take no longer than two to three minutes.
- Add the green part of the sliced green onion and the cashews. Mix well.
To serve
- Transfer to plates or bowls along with rice.
- Sprinkle with the reserved chili slices.
