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Cashew Chicken - Delicious and easy cashew chicken recipe with tender and silky chicken in Chinese brown sauce. Homemade is so much better than takeout.
Chinese Cashew Chicken
There are many recipes online, but I am going to teach you the best homemade and authentic Chinese cashew chicken recipe that tastes just like takeout from the best Chinese restaurants.
The secret to becoming an expert on this recipe lies in the silky velveting techniques of the chicken and the sauce. Master those and you won’t need takeout again, believe me.
How To Make Cashew Chicken Silky
If you have been to a good Chinese restaurant, you would notice that the chicken is extremely tender and silky smooth – almost velvety. Yes, most Chinese chefs “treat” the chicken with baking soda.
Baking soda removes the potential “meaty” odor from the meat and tenderizes at the same time (learn all about it in my Cook’s Note). Pairing the velvety chicken with crunchy cashew nuts adds texture and tastes absolutely delicious.
Cashew Chicken Sauce
What kind of sauce is used? Like most Chinese stir-fry, the sauce is a Chinese brown sauce that is made of oyster sauce, soy sauce, water (or chicken broth) and sugar.
For authentic flavors, sesame oil, ground white pepper and Chinese rice wine are also used to make the sauce. Lastly, corn starch is added to thicken up this traditional sauce.
Tips For The Best Cashew Chicken
- Use chicken breasts for the best result.
- Do not skimp on the cashews – include loads of cashew nuts.
- The brown sauce is the soul of this dish, so get the best quality Chinese soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- Add red or green bell peppers and cook in a wok or skillet. Make some steamed rice to go with it and you don’t need Chinese takeout ever again!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 515 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 oz (280g) boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5 slices ginger, peeled
- 1 small red bell pepper, or green bell pepper, cut into small squares
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashew nuts
Marinade:
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine, optional
Sauce:
- 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 dashes ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon rice wine, optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- salt , to taste
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken breast with cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut the chicken into cubes and marinate it with cornstarch and rice wine (if using). In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Sauce together and set aside.
- Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir-fry the chicken until it turns white (it doesn't need to be fully cooked). Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok or skillet. Then, add the ginger and bell pepper, stirring until you can smell the aromatic scent of the peppers. Return the chicken to the wok, then stir in the sauce. Toss and stir-fry continuously until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce thickens. Adjust the seasoning with salt to taste.
- Add the cashew nuts and stir quickly to combine. Dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks so much for the cashew chicken recipe! Out of all the stirfries I’ve tried over the years, this tasted and felt like the most authentic! I’m so excited and am going to try more of your recipes. It was so good! :) Happy holidays!
Thanks KJ for trying my cashew chicken recipe.
what is the Asian techniques for this dish
Stir-fry.
I appreciate your recipes. I’ve used several and haven’t been disappointed yet. I want to learn to cook the Chinese way. It can be difficult to find authentic Chinese recipes that aren’t corrupted by American tastes. I also enjoy learning new and proper techniques. I was excited to learn about the use baking soda and have applied it to other recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Genghis. :)
I really admired about what you have to say regarding Chinese food and how American restaurants have turned it into greasy starchy food. This recipe looks like a shift away from that and after learning about baking soda, I’m definitely going to have to give it a try. It looks a lot fresher than what you would order at a take-out restaurant.
Hi Brooke – yes try it out, it’s magic!
Hey! Tempting cashew chicken. My son is fancy about this chinese recipe, thanks for sharing it.
This was soooooo good! I made it with shrimp, skipping the baking soda step- seriously, so good! Thanks for the recipe!
Is there an acceptable substitute for oyster sauce? I wouldn’t use it for two reasons, one of which is a severe allergy to any kind of shellfish or shell-type sea creature.
I wonder if the awful reaction I always have to “Chinese” food is because of what you said; it’s been butchered (I would say bastardized) in this country to the point that it isn’t the fresh, clean way of eating it seems it should be. I don’t eat Chinese food because it ALWAYS makes me very sick. I think, with this recipe, if I can substitute oyster sauce with something else, I may have found at least one authentic dish I can enjoy.
Thank you for posting it :-)
Hi Joyce, I totally agree. You can try this to substitute oyster sauce: http://www.amazon.com/Bragg-Liquid-Aminos-Purpose-Seasoning/dp/B0094EO9WS. I thnk Whole Foods carry it, too.
I made this last week and it was delicious. My 2 year old can be quite fussy but she loved this dish. I didn’t have rice wine but did have rice wine vinegar. No white pepper, used black pepper instead. I’ll definitely be making it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe :-)
Thank you so much for the velveting tip. I eat a load of chicken breasts these days and velveting is a fantastic way to ensure a tender and melt in the mouth texture. Thanks again !
Cashew chicken doesn’t have bell pepper. It should be celery. Otherwise, recipe sound yummy!
Arah – you can put any kinds of vegetables you like in your cashew chicken.