Easy Cashew Chicken

by | Oct 7, 2015 | Asian Cuisine

Easy Cashew Chicken

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as making a fancy dish yourself that you used to pay for at nice restaurants. One of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant is cashew chicken. So I thought to myself.. hey, how hard could it possibly be?

My first attempt went sideways on me because I didn’t add any corn starch and the sauce was runny, but I have now perfected this easy cashew chicken for you. The secret to this dish is the sauce. It’s surprisingly simple and you probably already have all of the ingredients you’ll need sitting in your kitchen right now. Skip ordering takeout tonight, and make this gourmet Cashew Chicken the lazy way–in only 15 minutes. 

Time:

  • Prep Time – 5 minutes
  • Cook Time – 10 Minutes

Cost:

  • This recipe can easily be made for less than $10. The most expensive ingredient will be the cashews.

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 lb uncooked chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp cooking sherry
  • 6 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 green onions cut into small rings
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3/4 cup cashews
  • 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp red chili flake
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (don’t over due it)
  • 1 cup uncooked white rice (minute rice)

Directions:

Start by cooking your rice according to box directions. Dice your chicken breast into small cubes (roughly 1/2″-1″ wide), mince your garlic, and cut the green onion into small rings. Next combine 1 tbsp of soy sauce with cooking sherry in a small mixing bowl with the cubed chicken breast. Let it sit while you combine 4 tbsp soy sauce, corn starch, sugar and rice vinegar in another small mixing bowl.

Take the chicken out of the sherry/soy sauce mix (without the extra sauce) and add it to a saute pan over medium heat with olive oil, red chili flake and cayenne pepper. Cook for 2-4 minutes or until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Add cashews and the soy sauce/corn starch/sugar/rice vinegar mixture to the hot pan and combine thoroughly. Remove remove pan from heat and stir for roughly 60 seconds. Let it stand for a couple minutes and the sauce will thicken.

Plating:

You can serve this dish either in a bowl or on a plate. Either way, place your cooked white rice in a circle on the bottom of the bowl/plate. Scoop chicken out of the saute pan and place it over the rice. Sprinkle green onion on top. Serve and enjoy!