How To Make Cashew Chicken

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Most Chinese takeout menus include sections of dishes combining stir fried meat, mixed vegetables and a savory sauce. These basic building blocks create variety and make it possible to get food to your door in 15 minutes or less. You can use the same strategy, while continuing to break in a brand new wok, to create satisfying weeknight dinners at home.

A classic dish like cashew chicken traces its roots to Taishan villages and the earliest Chinese immigrants who came to the United States for the Gold Rush. In fact, this recipe is adapted from Rhoda Yee’s excellent, Chinese Village Cookbook, which I would recommend picking up if you’d like to dive deeper into this chapter of culinary history.

Cashew chicken is born from a formula that adds marinated chicken to nuts (like cashews, almonds and peanuts) and mixed vegetables (like onions, bell peppers, peas, celery and bamboo shoots), before being covered with a simple brown sauce (built from inputs like soy sauce, oyster sauce and stock). Once you master this dish, you can begin experimenting according to your own preferences.

From start to finish, making cashew chicken shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, making it ideal to prepare even on the busiest evening. Served over steaming white rice, the result of your efforts is savory, hearty and healthy…with plenty of leftovers for the office. Not bad for a weeknight!

Here’s how to make cashew chicken, step-by-step. The detailed tutorial with pictures and directions is at the bottom of the page.

Your turn! What tips can you share from your family’s recipe? Want to ask a question before you start cooking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Cashew Chicken Recipe

Makes: 4 Servings | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

3/4 pound chicken breast or thigh, cubed

Marinade:
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Sauce:
1/2 cup mushroom liquid
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup cashews
2 1/2 ounce can of button mushrooms, liquid reserved
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
3 tablespoons oil

Directions

1. Combine the cubed chicken with the marinade ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce mixture and set aside.

3. Heat a pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and stir fry the onions, peas and red bell pepper for 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and sugar, then set aside.

4. Reheat the pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, then lightly brown the garlic and ginger. Stir fry the chicken until cooked through.

5. Stir the sauce mixture, pour over the chicken and combine until thickened.

6. Add the cooked vegetables, mushrooms and cashews to the pan. Mix well until combined and heated through.

7. Serve immediately with white rice.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

Start by gathering your ingredients. It’s a simple formula that can be varied fairly endlessly: chicken + vegetables + sauce. Add white rice and you have a simple, hearty dinner ready in minutes.

Combine the cubed chicken with the marinade ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes.

Prepare the sauce mixture and set aside.

Heat a pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and stir fry the onions, peas and red bell pepper for 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and sugar, then set aside.

Reheat the pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, then lightly brown the garlic and ginger. Stir fry the chicken until cooked through.

Stir the sauce mixture, pour over the chicken and combine until thickened.

Add the cooked vegetables, mushrooms and cashews to the pan. Mix well until combined and heated through.

Serve immediately with white rice.