Put down that takeout menu! This Cashew Chicken is a recipe that truly stacks up to your favourite Chinese takeout. And it’s incredibly quick and EASY to make!
A saucy chicken stir fry with cashews, this is a terrific combination of flavours. You’ll love how saucy this is, and how you can adapt this to your taste by using vegetables of choice. Try this with Hot and Sour Soup or Chinese Corn Soup with a side of Fried Rice for a homemade takeout experience!
Cashew Chicken
This is takeout made at home that truly stacks up to your favourite Chinese restaurant. No false promises here! Just read some of the glowing reviews from the many people who have tried this. 😇
You’ll have it on the table faster than ordering home delivery, it’s healthier (way less greasy!) and it’s versatile so you can add or switch the vegetables as you please. So much easier to just adapt this yourself rather than trying to explain what you want over the phone to your Chinese takeout place…… right?? 😉
The secret ingredient is Chinese Cooking Wine
Chinese Cooking Wine, also known as Shaoxing wine or Shaosing wine, is the secret ingredient that makes homemade Chinese food truly taste as good as take out.
It’s an alcoholic wine used for Chinese and other Asian cooking. Totally unpleasant to drink, salty, cheap as chips from Asian stores (~ $1.50 for a big bottle), lasts forever and you can read more about it here (if you’re so inclined).
While you’d never drink it straight, when used cooking, it completely transforms. It seasons the sauce, gives it depth of flavour and complexity, that “something something” to make it just like Chinese restaurants.
Substitutions for Shaoxing Wine
The best substitute is Mirin, or dry sherry – these produce virtually the same result. If you can’t consume alcohol, the best alternative is to substitute low sodium chicken broth for the water in the sauce.
Ingredients in Cashew Chicken
I promised quick and easy, and I exaggerate not! There’s not that many ingredients in the sauce (see photo above) nor in the stir fry itself (see below).
I like to use chicken thigh for stir fries because it’s juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I always tenderise it using a Chinese restaurant technique using baking soda (bi-carb). It’s super simple, see directions here: How to Velvet Chicken.
I make Cashew Chicken with green capsicum (bell peppers) and onion because they are the most common vegetables I’ve seen in Cashew Chicken. But feel free to add other vegetables into this. I’ve also seen it with red capsicum, celery, Asian Greens, broccoli, carrots and scallions/shallots.
Making Cashew Chicken
Cashew Chicken is very straight forward to make and also very forgiving (especially if you use chicken thigh).
Mix the Sauce, use a bit to marinate the chicken just for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables, have a glass of wine, browse through the Asian Takeout recipe collection and think about all the other things you want to try one of these days…😊
When you’re ready to cook, have everything ready to go because it takes less than 5 minutes! Sauté garlic and onion (1 min), cook chicken and capsicum (3 min), add sauce, simmer 1 minute until thickens, serve over rice.
As with all my stir fries, this Cashew Chicken comes with plenty of sauce. There’s nothing sadder than when you’re left with a bowl of plain white rice with no sauce to eat it with. Right??!
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice!
Chinese Cashew Chicken
Watch how to make it
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Chinese Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour
- 3 tbsp soy sauce , all purpose or light (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Mirin (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- Dash of white pepper (sub black)
Stir Fry
- 500g / 1 lb chicken thigh , skinless boneless, cut into 2.5cm/1" pieces (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 onion , chopped into 1.75 cm / 3/4" pieces(yellow, brown or white)
- 1 green capsicum / bell pepper , chopped into 2 cm / 0.8" pieces
- 6 tbsp water
- 3/4 cup roasted cashews , unsalted
Instructions
- Sauce: Mix cornflour and soy sauce until there's no lumps. Then add remaining Sauce ingredients and mix.
- Marinate: Transfer 2 tbsp Sauce to chicken, mix to coat. Set aside for 10 minutes+.
- Cook: Heat oil over high heat in a wok or heavy based skillet. Add the garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add capsicum and cook for 1 minute.
- Add Sauce and water. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until Sauce thickens.
- Stir through cashews, remove from stove. Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2015. Updated post with new photos, better video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added! No change to recipe.
More Chinese takeout favourites
- Chow Mein
- Beef & Broccoli
- Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)
- Spring Rolls
- Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
- See ALL Chinese Takeout recipes
Life of Dozer
Wow, it’s true. You really can make anyone look intelligent with glasses. 🤓
Wow. This is such an amazing recipe. I’ve tried for years to make good Chinese food and the results have been just meh. I saw this recipe and the tip about Shaoxing wine. So I ordered some from Amazon. People, this stuff is amazing. And so is Nagi’s Charlie stir-fry sauce. I used that sauce recipe and added celery, carrots, Shanghai bok choy and water chestnuts. Served with jasmine rice. It was divine. My husband had three helpings. I can’t wait to use my Shaoxing again! Thank you, Nagi, for a fantastic recipe!
Made this as mil requested for her birthday, im a creature of habit and never had this dish before so was a little hesitant. It was AMAZING now one of my favs
Excellent! We’ve cooked most of your stir-fry recipes and what I like most about them is the minimum of ingredients used repeatedly until used up. Nothing sitting in my fridge going to waste.
Simple, economical, healthy and delicious.
This recipe was a hit with the family. I used red capsicum instead of green and added mushrooms and greens.
Sounds like you nailed it Helen! N x
Wonderful, husband was so happy. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!😀
OH WOW!!!! I literally just made this and it is SO GOOD that I am writing the review RIGHT NOW. Wowee!!!! I have tried to make chinese food before and it was always “okay” but this….THIS!!!!!! This blew my socks off. Best. Recipe. EVER.
WOW!! I followed this recipe exactly and all my family commented on how it tasted just like a restaurant, which it did.
Quick, easy and amazing tasting!
I love your recipes Nagi. I enjoy seeing Dozer too. I’ve made many off your recipies many times & am amazed that the flavors are better, brighter & fresher than from a restaurant. I have 2 black Labs & love that you’ve included recipes that they can enjoy as well. Many years of continued success & thank you
Made this for the first time tonight after Googling ‘chicken and cashew nut recipe’ on a complete whim – absolutely delicious and sooo quick and easy! I had all of the ingredients for the sauce except for oyster which I’d run out of – I’ve read that hoisin is a good dupe so I used that instead and it worked out well as it was still really tasty! Will definitely be making this again, thank you!
Made this for the first time tonight after Googling ‘chicken and cashew nut recipe’ on a complete whim – absolutely delicious and sooo quick and easy! I had all of the ingredients for the sauce except for oyster which I’d run out of – I’ve read that hoisin is a good dupe so I used that instead and it worked out well as it was still really tasty! Will definitely be making this again, thank you!
Chinese chicken is absolutely brilliant, so tasty and easy to make. Velveting the chicken is something I will use from now on. Genius. Thank you.
By far the BEST version of this dish I have ever tasted! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Having being guilty of only using premixed jar sauces I decided to try this.
It was sooooo delicious AND so easy.
Thanks Nagi – I’ll be trying more recipes
Tried this tonight. The flavour was spot on. I could never figure out the ingredient that was keeping my cashew chicken from tasting like my favorite restaurant. Now I can make it at home all the time!
Made this for the first time this week and can definitely say will make it again! Family loved it!
I added snow peas, sugar snap peas and broccoli as well
This was easy to make and simply delicious! Just the right amount of sauce as well. I added green beans to the recipe and that worked really well. Thanks Nagi and hugs to Dozer!
Haven’t tried it yet, but if its just half as good as your other recipes, It’s going to be amazing!
I have a small request for you Nagi, could you perhabs use metric throughout All your recipes? You do in most part, but fx. In this one, the cashews are only listed in cups. Many european countries doesn’t use cups as a measurement. And if they do, a cup can vary in size 😊
Best regards
Hi Carsten – I do try but it’s not always possible unfortunately due to practicality or time! But, noted! – Nx
Excellent results for little time and effort… this was my favourite of any Chinese recipes from any site … I served it with soft noodles and bean sprouts instead of rice and it was really delicious!
Hello! This looks delicious and easy!! I will be making it tonight, but I have a quick question. You recommend that we do not use dark soy sauce. I have the Kikkoman low sodium sauce, can I use this? Not sure if it is considered a dark soy sauce. Thanks a lot!
I used Kikkoman low sodium and it turned out great!
This recipe changed my life for the better!!! How have I never tried this????
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ! so tasty I couldn’t make enough (still making it). Such an easy recipe to do and follow even my mum was impressed with my results (THAT is saying something). Love Dozer ! Thanks.
Hi Nagi , thank you for another wonderful recipe. It came out delicious, but a bit to salty for me. I used Yamasa soy, and Maekrua oyster sauce ( a THAI brand) .
Thanks 🙏🏽