While Thai Cashew Chicken is not as saucy as Chinese Cashew Chicken, what it lacks in sauciness it makes up for in big flavour. Crunchy golden cashews and chicken are tossed in a simple yet bold Thai stir fry sauce with as much or as little fresh chilli as you want!
This is a great Thai food favourite that’s incredibly quick to make.
Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Stir fries featuring cashews are a favourite across Asia and the Thai version is one of the best! Unlike Chinese Cashew Chicken which is generous on sauce, the Thai version is a drier style stir fry where the sauce flavour is much more intense. So you don’t need nor do you want a ton of sauce to soak your rice. There’s plenty of flavour coating the stir fry ingredients that stains and flavours the rice when you mix it through.
Honestly, just look at this. No one would see this wok of goodness and think, “It doesn’t look like there’s enough flavour in that,”… Right? 😂
What goes in Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Here’s what you need for this Thai stir fry with chicken:
Cashews – The nuts are actually the star ingredient in this stir fry! They bring texture, flavour and nutty richness to the party. It’s best to use raw so they get toasted freshly in the wok (or skillet) for maximum flavour development. It only takes around 3 minutes. If you only have roasted cashews, that’s fine too. Just toast them lightly for around 90 seconds, they don’t need to be as fully cooked.
Whichever you use, be sure to use unsalted cashews. Salted cashews will make the dish far too salty;
Chicken – Thigh is best, for the juiciest and most flavoursome chicken pieces. If you prefer to use breast, consider tenderising it the Chinese restaurant way to make it softer and more juicy. If you’ve never done it before, it will blow your mind – it’s a simple trick yet a total game-changer!
Onion and garlic – Essential aromatics. It’s hard to find a stir fry in my world that doesn’t start with these two!
Green onion – For freshness and colour;
Chilli – For a hit of spiciness. 100% optional;
The sauce – Here’s what you need:
Oyster sauce – This packs a ton of umami as well as acting as a the thickener for this Thai Stir Fry Sauce. You can use vegetarian oyster sauce, if you prefer;
Dark soy sauce – The most intensely-flavoured soy in the soy sauce family, and just a tiny amount packs a serious flavour punch. It also stains foods a gorgeously deep mahogany colour;
Fish sauce – Fish sauce is used in Thai cooking like soy sauce is used in Chinese cooking, ie. as a primary seasoning. While it might smell a bit (ok, very!) funky straight out of the bottle, once it’s cooked it is completely transformed. It adds an incomparable complexity and depth of flavour into any dish. No fishy flavours at all in the end result!
How to make Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
As with all stir fries, once you start cooking, things move fast! The key when cooking stir fries is to make sure you have all the ingredients chopped and ready to toss in, including the Thai Stir Fry Sauce. Also cook the jasmine rice beforehand – it takes longer to make than this stir fry!!
Sauce – Mix the sauce in a small dish;
Cashews – Start by cooking off the cashews. If using raw cashews (which I recommend for better flavour), it will take around 3 minutes to cook through on a medium heat. They will change from a pale cream colour to deep golden brown, and they should be crunchy (yep, you’re gonna have to try one to check!🤷🏻♀️).
If you are starting with cashews that are already roasted, then you only need to toast them for around 1 1/2 minutes just to heat them through and bring out the flavour (as opposed to cooking them);
Remove cashews from the wok / skillet. Reserve the oil – we will use that to cook the stir fry;
Stir fry! – As with all stir fries, we add ingredients in the order it takes to cook.
Start with garlic and onion, the aromatics. Just tossed for 30 seconds is all that’s needed to get them started and to flavour the oil. Next toss the chicken in.
Once the chicken is mostly cooked, add the white part of the green onions (ie. the thicker part at the base of the stem) along with the chilli. We add the white part of the green onions before the softer green part because it takes longer to cook. Cook for a further minute, and by this time everything that’s currently in the wok should be almost cooked through.
Sauce – Next, the sauce. Pour in, then continue to cook for another 1 minute or until the sauce reduces and everything in the wok gets stained a beautiful mahogany colour; and
Green onion and cashews – And finally, toss the green part of the green onions in, plus the cashews. Give it a toss for around 20 – 30 seconds which is all that’s needed for the green onion to wilt slightly.
And you’re done! What was that, a grand total of 8 minutes? I told you it was fast!!
What to serve with Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
The traditional rice of Thailand is Jasmine Rice which has a lovely, subtle perfume, making it decidedly more interesting than plain white rice! Though really, any kind of rice will work just fine here – brown, white, basmati, jasmine, and for those of you on a low-carb bender, Cauliflower Rice.
I’d also add a simple side salad just to up the vegetable quota. A quick Asian Side Salad is a staple for me (that’s code for “an easy dressing that goes with any vegetables”), Smashed Cucumbers is another personal favourite I obsessively inhale all year round, along with Chang’s Crunchy Noodle Salad (Australia’s favourite salad!).
Then of course, my fallback that works with literally anything: simple, classic Asian Sesame Dressing. Use this for any vegetables – raw, roasted, steamed, blanched. You just can’t go wrong with it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews , unsalted (Note 1 for roasted)
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 1/2 onion (brown, yellow, or white), cut into thin wedges
- 200g/7oz chicken thighs , skinless and boneless, sliced into 1cm / 1/3" thin strips (Note 2)
- 2 green onions , cut into 2.5cm / 1” lengths, white part separated from green part
- 1/2 red cayenne pepper , deseeded and finely sliced on the diagonal (omit or reduce if preferred) (Note 3)
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 4)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 5)
- 2 tsp fish sauce (Note 6)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 3 tbsp water
Serving:
- Red chilli , finely sliced (optional garnish)
- Jasmine rice , for serving (or other rice of choice)
Instructions
- Sauce: Mix all the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cook cashews: Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or large skillet. Add cashews and cook for 5 minutes until they become a dark golden colour and crunchy (yep, you might have to eat one to check!). Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon.
- Garlic & onion: Turn heat up to high. Add garlic and onion. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Chicken: Add chicken. Cook for 1 minute until the outside changes from pink to white.
- White part of green onion & chilli: Add white part of green onions and chilli. Cook for 1 minute until chicken is just cooked through.
- Add Sauce: Cook for 1 minute until it reduces down to a syrup, coating the chicken nicely.
- Green onion & cashews: Add green part of green onions and cashews. Toss for 30 seconds.
- Serve: Transfer to serving dish. Serve with jasmine rice, or other rice of choice, garnished with extra red chilli (if you can handle the heat!).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Thai Stir Fry and Noodle Favourites
Life of Dozer
What Dozer ate this Easter – Beetroot Cured Salmon!!! 🙀
So easy and really nice flavour.
It really is easy isn’t it Neil?! I’m so glad you love it! N x
Hi Nagi, in the Thai Cashew Chicken recipe, how much ordinary soy sauce should I use. I need to have gluten free and as far as I know nobody makes gluten free dark soy sauce.
Hi Colleen, you can sub with regular soy but the flavour just won’t be as intense (and the colour too) – N x
Thanks Nagi, I’ll use the same amount then and I’m sure it will be delicious too
Hi Nagi,
How do you think this would go with prawns instead of chicken?
Hi Tracy, you could definitely do this with prawns, just be careful not to overcook them as they will only take a short time in the wok! N x
Thanks for your reply. I made it with the prawns. It was delicious! I tapped to moved to serve four people and added some capsicum and snow peas. Your recipes are never fail, thankyou!!
Sensational so easy to make and tasted like being in Thailand.
Wahoo, thanks David! N x
Hi Nagi, what vegetables can I add and at which point?? Trying to get those veges in!
Hi Nagi,
This dish is amazing. Just wondering why mine was a fair bit lighter than yours – I used the dark soy and doubled the recipe for more people. The chicken just isn’t quite as coated and saucy as yours looks in the pictures…
Hi Nikita, you can definitely add more veggies if you like but I would double the sauce. Things like carrots, capsicum, broccoli or even baby corn would be delicious here! N x
Hi Nagi, I made this last night and it was delicious!!! I felt like I was eating at a Thai restaurant. Thanks sooo much for all your great recipes. I live by your website 😁
I’m so glad you loved it Dev, that’s great to hear!! N x
Smelly or not, Dozer is still my Hero Doggie.
😂 What would we do without him?! N x
Hi Nagi!
I haven’t made this yet, but I think I have to…
I showed this recipe to my boyfriend and he told me when he got up this morning, that he dreamed about it.
You should! Tonight’s the night Deborah!!! N x
That pic of Dozer today made me laugh…What a face…Love it!
This looks like a great recipe I will try soon.
I hope you do try it Rhonda, you’ll love it and it’s dead easy! N x
I need a mobile app for your recipe so I can take it with me on my phone to grocery shop for ingredients. Please!
Hi Vici, I actually started with an app but it wasn’t financially viable to keep going – N x
Save your recipes in Evernote. The personal version is free. If you want to sync across multiple platforms, they offer a moderately priced subscriptions. I’ve saved hundreds of recipes that ai can access from iPhone, iPad and iMac from anywhere.
This sounds not quite right, I’ve lived in Thailand 12 years and dried whole chillis (and a lot more than a half – more like 6 per portion) alongside about 1/4 fairly chunky diced red pepper (capsicum) per portion are commonly used. Furthermore, most Thai chefs add a tablespoon of ketchup per portion to the sauce, warming and simmering off the vinegar before adding to the other ingredients very briefly stirring thru before serving
You’ll just have to try it Richard to see that its absolutely fabulous – everyone has their own way though 🙂 N x
Nagi , howdo you moisten the chicken breast is it marinating it beforehand ??
Its chicken thigh, its a fatty meat so stays moist.
Hi Margaret, not sure what you mean here? You can follow the link in the notes for the Chinese way to tenderise chicken breast 🙂 N x
While living in Thai I used gai pad ped ma muang as my rating tool for different restaurants/food stalls. Everyone makes it different which is interesting.
And that’s what we love about cooking!! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, thank you so much for several things… a)a great looking recipe which will allow me to use chicken breasts which I prefer, b)a way to tenderise those breasts that I’ve not seen before, c)a Thai recipe in which the chilli is completely optional – have always ignored Thai recipes as I thought they’d be too hot for my palate, d)a video that even shows how you cut your chicken (thighs), and e)something that I simply can’t forget…. a big sloppy hug from Dozer!😁😂
I hope you try this one Lorraine, the tenderising is a game changer – just like you’d get at your local takeout. Keep me updated with what you think!! N x
Maybe I missed it, but when do you add the water & sugar? Thanks!
Hi Beverly, step one – you mix all the sauce ingredients together. N x
Sounds Super Yummy Nagi. Thinking of Dozer I thought you might enjoy this little poem by Ogden Nash.
The truth I do not stretch or shove
When I state that the dog is full of love.
I’ve also found, by actual test,
A wet dog is the lovingest.
that might inclued the Dirty Dog too!
Just had to tell you that I love Ogden Nash poems!😂
I love this Eve, it’s SO true 😂 N x
Hi Nagi, What does ‘cooking off’ mean? Thanks.
Hi Elle, you’re cooking the cashews as the first step to toast them. N x
Hi can I use Golden Mountain sauce instead of Dark Soy pleasr
Hi Shirley, you cannot do a straight swap with Golden Mountain as it’s a seasoning sauce and has other flavours in it. N x
Thanks so much for your quick reply. Love your site .
Hi Nagi. I used to visit dozens of recipe sites, but over the past couple of years, I just keep coming back to yours and now it’s the only one I need. Your recipes are always guaranteed to be delicious. Now I just need to train my family to like some heat.
Oh I love hearing this John, thanks SO much!! N x
What a gorgeous yummy way to end the Easter Long Weekend ! I LIVE for stir fries, love Thai cooking and do not use nuts nearly often enough ! So – a huge thank you – brown rice and green salad and i’ll be back tomorrow to rave after I have partaken . . . oops . . . that is if that gorgeous tuna from that jar for you and the beetroot salmon in Dozer’s case . . . well, if you both are still there and smiling . . . . 🙂 !
Enjoy Eha, we are still smiling here.. just 😉 N x