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Thai Cashew Chicken - best Thai chicken stir-fry with cashew nuts and bell peppers. So easy to make, takes 20 mins and much better than restaurants!
I love Thai cashew chicken and we have a favorite ones from our neighborhood’s Thai restaurant.
We never miss out ordering this dish.
Served with steamed white rice, Thai cashew chicken is so good that even picky eater little G likes it.
This Thai cashew chicken recipe is very easy and you don’t need a ton of “exotic” ingredients.
All ingredients can be found at regular super markets.
The only ingredient that is “ethnic” is fish sauce, which you can easily get from Whole Foods and bigger food stores these days.
You can’t make authentic Thai recipes without using fish sauce.
The smell might be pungent but it adds so much flavors to Thai (and Vietnamese) dishes.
Try my recipe and I can assure you that it’s better than your favorite Thai restaurants.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 411 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Thai Cashew Chicken
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Thai Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 oz (280g) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin pieces
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 small onion, cut into pieces
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, cut into pieces
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup cashew nuts
- 2 stalks scallion, cut into strips
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar , or more to taste
- 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together, ensuring the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Heat a skillet with oil over high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken and cook until both sides are slightly browned. Push the chicken to one side of the skillet, ensuring the other side has oil.
- Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 30 seconds. Then add the bell peppers and cashew nuts. Toss and stir-fry with the chicken before adding the sauce. Add the scallions and stir to combine well. Turn off the heat and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my goodness, with the combination of soy sauce & fish sauce, it’s easy to make this too salty. I’m sensitive to salt & sugar, but forgot how salty fish sauce is & added too much. The aroma & taste of this dish is rhapsodic, but next time I’m using low-sodium soy sauce.
I tried a recipe for your cashew chicken. But I don’t see it now. You soaked the chicken in baking soda. Rinsed very well & coated it with corn starch. I would like this recipe please. I just don’t remember all the ingredients or the amounts
I updated the pictures: https://rasamalaysia.com/cashew-chicken/. The baking soda trick is in the Cook’s Note.
Thanks Rasa for sharing. I’ve just cooked this chicken and it’s absolutely beautiful. It tastes like the cashew chicken I had in Thailand. I have added some button mushrooms. I can recommend this fantastic recipe to everyone.
Awesome !, Can’t wait to try it :)
Thank you for sharing. I had leftover red and green peppers and wanted a healthy recipe to try. Quick, easy to follow recipe. Great flavor. It was my first time using fish sauce.
Hi Rasa, wow, I just discovered your site with your beautiful recipes! :-) I will definitely start cooking them. I just started a new international blog based in Karlsruhe, South-Germany. A lot of international people, who came for their studies or a job, live here. Is there a chance I may share this or another recipe on my website? :-)
All the best, Johanna
Yes thanks and just link back to me.
Cooked this last night and it was superb. Am always suspicious of too much sugar but decided to follow the recipe exactly and it was great. So easy to make I am going to include it in my recipe book for when I go away in my caravan.
Thanks
Hi Iris, thanks for trying my Thai cashew chicken recipe. Thai food uses a lot of sugar, that’s why it’s so tasty!! ;)
I love Thai cashew chicken! This looks super delicious
I can’t wait to try this. It looks fairly simple to make. Thank you for posting.
Hi Molly, yes, it’s super easy to make, do try it! :)
This is Thai-style cashew chicken, I used fish sauce and the cooking method is slightly different. Please remember that many Thai dishes are Chinese dishes, but being localized for their taste. This is the Chinese version: https://rasamalaysia.com/cashew-chicken/