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!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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!
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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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
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Pork
- Crispy Honey Chicken
- Beef & Broccoli
- Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)
- Spring Rolls
- Prawn (Shrimp) Stir Fry
- 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. 🤓
What could I use to replace the capsicum?
I haven’t tried making this yet, but I plan to tonight.
I will be using cubed broccoli stems (great way to deal with these bits if you don’t care for them in slaw) and water chestnuts. That may not be the usual thing, but those are the vegetables that were in the first – and by far the best – preparation I have ever eaten. The rest of my observations are based on Chinese dishes I have made.
Whatever you do, use Shaoxing if you can. If you can’t find it, sherry will work. If you do use mirin, the end result will be a little sweeter. Some people like that. I do not. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am a condiment and seasoning geek, and it’s not unusual for me to have at least five kinds each of cooking wine, vinegar, and hot sauce in my pantry, and usually three kinds of soy sauce, too..)
Definitely use thigh meat. It’s more flavorful, and you don’t have to velvet it first, as you often do with breast, to keep it tender. As a general rule, I like dark meat in dishes with dark or spicy sauce, and breast meat in those with light, mild ones.
Anyway, I digress. I look forward to trying this recipe. Thanks for posting it, Amy!
I am so very sorry, I got your name wrong, Nagi. I had Amy’s question about substitutes for the peppers on my mind when I posted. I hope you can edit my comment to correct my error.
You could add some zucchini if you prefer – not strictly usual in Chinese dishes but it would work! N x
Yum! Super easy and as good if not better than takeaway. Definitely be making again.
Fakeaway beats Takeaway!!! N x
Regarding the Shaoxing wine: I’ve looked at different brands and the sodium in this can go from 150 to 350 mg which is a big difference and the difference could make a dish too salty tasting. How much sodium is in the brand you use so I can purchase a comparable item? Also is there a brand of Shaoxing wine you recommend? Thanks for your help.
I use Double Phoenix! There’a a post on my recommended Asian ingredients here: https://promotown.info/asian-market-grocery-store-shopping-list/%3C/a%3E N x
I just hate it how I’m going to be able to eat this and only this for a few weeks 😭
Perfect recipe, wouldn’t change a thing!
Thanks Cait!! N x
Thank you once again Nagi.
I had a jar of cashews and look up your recipe.
Wow it was delicious. Easy to make. I did find it a little salty, I don’t eat much salt normally.
I used a traditional Asian shop purchased oyster sauce it might have been that. I will definitely be making this again. I wish I could give you more that 5 stars.
Hi Nagi
Making this recipe and your butter chicken recipe for my birthday dinner tonight and I cooked them both in advance. It just dawned on me that the chicken might go tough I reheat it in the microwave. Any tips to avoid this. Thanks for being such an inspiration in the kitchen.
So good and so easy and so quick!
Loved this and SO easy! Thank you, once again!
This recipe is awesome! Tastes just like Chinese takeout. Thanks Nagi 🙂
Super yummy & easy to make. Made it with velveted breasts & added a few more veggies. The family loved it.
Found it very salty. Will try it with less soy/oyster sauce
Great weeknight meal. Delicious and family friendly. Only change I’ve made is that I veg it up by adding lots of different kinds of veggies like broccoli, asparagus, bok choi etc so I add a little less water. AlwYs a hit in my house. Thanks Nagi!,
Huge hit in my house. So quick and easy, I used breast meat and made the velvet chicken, what a great tip and it totally worked. I will be adding this into the rotation. I followed the recipe exactly including the wine!
Just recently came across this recipe, was my husbands favourite chinese takeaway. Now one of our easy and quick go to meals, because it’s so easy to prepare , healthy and delicious. Thank you!
Made this for dinner this evening. I’ve cooked (and love) Chinese dishes for many years and this is seriously, one of the best I’ve ever made. Doubled the sauce (as love lots of sauce) and so glad I have leftovers for tomorrow. Thanks Nagi for another great recipe.
Love this! I followed the directions to a T and it turned out great! I made sure to buy Chinese cooking wine, premium oyster sauce, and pure sesame.
The only thing about the instructions that confused me was the first step of the sauce. I mixed up exactly the amount of cornflour/starch and soy sauce as indicated, but mine looked NOTHING like the color of the mix in the video. I ended up adding 2x cornflour/starch to get it to look like that. Oh and the amount of white pepper. I put in a dash as indicated, which was like…a pinch out of the bag. But the video shows what looks to be a heaping teaspoon of white pepper. I would have added more if I noticed before I cooked it. Any clarification?
Regardless, easy peasy, delicious, and definitely incredibly adaptable. I will be making this again and again with whatever veggies I have at hand.
Hi Brandon – the colour of the cornflour mixture can vary depending on how dark your soy sauce is so the amount in the recipe as written should be enough to thicken it. With the white pepper it is a matter of taste. I use a dash which is somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 tsp but you can use more if you prefer! N x
What are some suitable options in substitution of oyster sauce if you don’t have it?
Delicious! I will definitely be making this again on a regular basis! I used chicken cutlets (velveting method), cut in small pieces The next time I will try chicken thighs (faster–no need to do velveting) and use low sodium soy sauce (or use less) since ours was a tad salty. I will also double the recipe since I need enough to feed five people. Finally, I will make more sauce the next time since some of us like it a little more saucy! As a side note…half of my family loves peppers and onions, while the other half doesn’t. So I cooked the onion and peppers separately in another pan and added it to the dish of those who ate it.
I made this last night. It was late and I was tired, but I realized that my chicken’s sell-by date was two days earlier, so I thought I’d best cook it up. It was very fast and easy to put together, and so delicious. Great recipe! I look forward to adding other vegetables to it in future iterations.
Dozer really does look smart in those glasses.
He thinks he is brilliant… hmmmm! N x
Family loved it! Followed recipe exactly. Used chicken breasts and followed directions for velveting. ( was a tad salty, I will reduce the soy/oyster sauce, or use low sodium next time). Thank you for posting.