Like most people I love a quick meal, especially during a busy work week. This Cashew Chicken recipe is one of my go-to mid-week quick meals. I’ve been making it for years but have somehow never shared the recipe.
As with most recipes that I love, this Cashew Chicken has a combination of sweet, sticky, salty, crunchy, and so much more. Making every fork full the perfect bite. With a couple of pantry staples, and only two other ingredients, this meal usually takes no more than 15 minutes from start to finish.
A couple of my secret tricks is that I always buy a couple of pouches of ready cooked rice and grains during my monthly grocery shopping. There so many varieties available and they are such a time saver. The best part, they only take a minute and a half to heat in the microwave. This coconut and Jasmine rice mix is my favourite for most Asian dishes. But do feel free to use whatever side you wish. This dish would work great with noodles as well.
The only two required fresh (or frozen) ingredients in this Cashew Chicken recipe are the chicken and spring onions. You are welcome to use fresh or powdered garlic and ginger, depending on your preference. The cashews, sesame seeds and all the sauce ingredients are pantry staples that I keep on hand. If you’d prefer to use a similar pre-made sauce, feel free. The aim here is a simple, quick but flavour packed mid-week meal. So choose whatever is convenient or available to you.
Head over to the Quick Meals section of my Recipes menu for more quick and easy meal options.
Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 grams Skinless, boneless chicken breasts or fillets
- 2 Tbsp Sesame, olive or vegetable oil
- 2 Cloves of garlic (crushed) or 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Finely grated fresh ginger or 1tsp ground ginger
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 100 grams Roasted Cashew Nuts (approx. ½ cup) Salted or unsalted
- 3 – 4 Spring/salad Onions
- Sesame Seeds to garnish Optional
Sauce Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce (low sodium)
- 3 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Honey or Brown Sugar Optional
- ¼ – ½ cup Chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 Tbsp Cornstarch / Corn Flour / Maizena
Instructions
- Slice the chicken into small bite sized pieces
- Add the oil to a large pan or wok and bring to medium heat. Add the chicken, garlic and ginger, then season with salt and pepper to taste
- Cook for a minute or two while combining all the sauce ingredients. Add the sauce to the chicken and cook on gentle medium heat for around 5 minutes
- Note: the quantity of stock will depend on how saucy you like your cashew chicken. Start with the minimum, you can always add the rest of the stock during cooking to add extra liquid
- After 5 minutes, add the cashew nuts and continue to cook for another 5 minutes
- During this time slice the spring onions and add then to the chicken and cashews for the last couple of minutes of the cook time
- After the total cooking time of 10 minutes, check that the chicken is cooked through and taste whether it needs further seasoning. If not, remove from the heat and serve
- Serve with your choice of coconut and Jasmine rice, any other rice or egg noodles. Garnish with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds for extra crunch
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