Cashew Chicken is full of tender, browned pieces of chicken, celery, and lots of cashews in a super flavorful sauce. Tastes just like take-out, only better.
Serve over white rice for a delicious home-cooked meal that tastes better than your favorite Chinese restaurant. Can be made in under 30 minutes.
The great thing about Cashew Chicken is the contrast in textures. There’s the wonderful crunchiness of the celery and cashews combined with tender pieces of chicken.
This recipe is slightly adapted from Cook’s Country. They seem to come up with the best-tasting versions of recipes , but they are not always the most authentic. Hence, the use of balsamic vinegar in this recipe.
For extra flavor, the chicken is briefly marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, dry sherry, and sesame oil before being cooked.
The sauce is hoisin-based for maximum flavor. There’s also balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes for flavor.
CASHEW CHICKEN RECIPE TIPS:
You want to cut the chicken into small pieces no bigger than 3/4-inch. This way they cook quickly and get nicely coated in sauce.
This recipe cooks quickly so have all your ingredients chopped and ready to go.
The first step is to toast the raw cashews in oil until golden. Be careful not to burn them. If your cashews have already been roasted, they will brown very quickly.
More Take-Out Fake-Out Recipes:
Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 celery ribs, sliced into 1/4 inch slices on bias
- 6 green onions, white parts sliced thin and green parts sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- white rice for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together chicken, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, cornstarch, sherry, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together hoisin sauce, water, vinegar, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet until hot. Add cashews and cook stirring constantly until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Reheat oil in the skillet until very hot. Add chicken mixture. Cook, stirring frequently until about halfway cooked.
- Add the celery, white parts of green onions, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add hoisin mixture and cook for 1 to 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in green parts of green onions and cashews.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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