Perfect for busy weeknights, this cashew chicken stir fry features tender chicken, crisp veggies, and crunchy cashews in a sweet-savory sauce, ready in 30 minutes!
Stir-fries are a lifesaver on busy weeknights. There’s something so satisfying about tossing everything into a pan and watching it transform into a flavorful, hearty meal in just minutes. This Cashew Chicken stir fry, with a little twist, has quickly become one of my go-to dishes when I’m short on time but still want something incredibly delicious.
The savory sauce has a hint of sweetness and a touch of spice, perfectly complementing the tender chicken and crunchy cashews. It’s a dish that delivers on flavor, texture, and ease of preparation—what more could you want?
What is Cashew Chicken Stir Fry?
There are a few variations of Cashew Chicken Stir Fry in Asian cuisine, particularly Chinese and Thai cooking. A key ingredient is of course the cashews, and the stir fries differ by seasoning sauces.
It typically features tender chicken pieces, stir-fried with vegetables and tossed with roasted cashews in a savory sauce. The combination of succulent chicken, crunchy cashews, and a well-balanced sauce makes this dish a crowd-pleaser.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: Perfect for those hectic weeknights when you need dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
- Flavor Explosion: The sauce is a delightful blend of savory, sweet, and spicy notes.
- Textural Bliss: The contrast between the tender chicken and crunchy cashews keeps every bite interesting.
- Customizable: You can easily swap out the vegetables or adjust the spice level to suit your taste.
- Great for Leftovers: This dish reheats beautifully, making it ideal for meal prep.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless chicken breast cubes marinated in optional turmeric powder and salt for an extra layer of flavor.
- Cashews: Cashews add such a delightful crunch and rich, nutty flavor. My cheat ingredient for making this is to use ready roasted cashews! The very same ones you snack on! You can toast raw cashews yourself if you prefer, I included the instructions for this in the recipe below.
- Vegetables: Broccoli and carrots are my go-to, but feel free to use your favorites.
- Sauce: A simple but flavorful mix of oyster sauce, dark sweet soy sauce or kicap manis, fish sauce, and Thai sweet chili sauce for that perfect combination of sweet-savouriness with colour!
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic add depth and fragrance to the stir fry.
- Dried Chilies: These add a subtle heat and extra layer of roasty flavor that makes this dish truly addictive! The heat is very subtle (unless you bite into the chillies), but feel free to omit if you don’t want any hit of spice.
Key Steps to Making Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
1. Marinate the Chicken (optional)
- Start by marinating the chicken in a bit of turmeric powder and salt.
- This step is optional but adds a nice color and a subtle earthy flavour to the chicken.
- Alternatively, use a light coating of flour to give the chicken a crust.
2. Make the Sauce
- While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce by combining oyster sauce, kicap manis, fish sauce, and Thai sweet chili sauce. Give a good mix to combine.
- Taste test, and adjust accordingly to preference. It should be a perfect balance of savory, sweet, with a hint of spice.
3. Stir-Fry the Dried Chilies
- Heat some oil in your wok and stir-fry the dried chilies until they’re fragrant and slightly puffed up.
- Remove them from the pan and set aside.
4. Toasting Raw Cashews
- If you’re using raw cashews, add to the same pan before toasting the dried chillies. Stir fry the cashews. Once they turn golden brown, immediately remove from the pan to avoid burning. If using roasted cashews, you can skip this step.
5. Cook the Chicken
- In the same pan, add the marinated chicken and pan-fry until golden brown.
6. Add Aromatics, Vegetables and Sauce
- Toss in the onion and garlic, stir-frying just for a minute to combine their flavors with the chicken.
- Add your choice of vegetables—I’m using broccoli and carrots today—along with the dried chilies and the prepared sauce.
- Stir-fry everything together until the vegetables are tender but still crisp. I like to cook them just long enough for the sauce to evenly coat everything.
7. Finish with Spring Onions and Cashews
- Finally, toss in the spring onions and cashews.
- Giving the stir fry one last quick toss to combine all the flavors.
8. How to Serve
Serve this cashew chicken stir fry over a bed of steamed jasmine rice or toss through noodles for a complete meal!
Storing and Reheating
Storing
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Reheat in a pan over medium heat. You may need to add a splash of water or broth to revive the sauce, but do not add too much as the cashews may turn soggy. Microwave reheating works too, but the stovetop method preserves the texture better.
Freezing
You can freeze this stir fry for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
FAQs
Yes! If using raw cashews, stir fry them in oil first before the dried chillies. Once the cashews start to turn golden brown, remove from the wok to avoid burning them.
Likely you’ve added them too early in the stir frying process. Add them in only at the last step to retain crispiness.
No! If you don’t have turmeric powder, you can skip it. Most recipes do not call for it, but trust me, the flavour is so good! The optional marination with turmeric and salt gives the chicken an extra flavour boost, and can remove any ‘fishiness’ from the chicken, especially if it’s frozen!
You can use a variety of vegetables like bell peppers, snap peas, zucchini, mushrooms, or baby corn. Feel free to mix and match based on what you have on hand.
If you don’t have kicap manis, you can use dark soy sauce which will be a thicker consistency with a deeper colour.
You can also use a mix of regular or light soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar or honey.
Yes, you can prepare the sauce and chop the vegetables ahead of time. Cooked stir fry can also be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, but it’s best served fresh.
To add more heat, increase the number of dried chilies, or add a dash of chili flakes or a chopped fresh bird’s eye chili to the stir fry.
You can also add a dollop of Sambal to the seasoning sauce for extra richness on top of spice!
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
2
servings10
minutes15
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
200g (7 oz) chicken breast, cubed
1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
¼ tsp salt (optional)
1-2 tbsp cooking oil
4-5 dried chilies, cut into pieces
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped and loosely packed
1/2 small carrot, sliced
½ cup roasted cashews (or raw cashews, toasted)
2-3 spring onions, sliced to 1-inch lengths
- Seasoning Sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
- Serve with:
Steamed Rice
Directions
- Marinate the Chicken: In a bowl, marinate the cubed chicken with turmeric powder and salt (if using). Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the oyster sauce, kicap manis, fish sauce, and Thai sweet chili sauce. Set aside.
- Stir-Fry Dried Chilies: Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the dried chilies and stir-fry until they become fragrant and slightly puffed up. Remove and set aside.
- Cook the Chicken: In the same wok, add the marinated chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.
- Add Aromatics: Add the sliced onion and minced garlic to the wok. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, just until fragrant.
- Add Vegetables: Toss in the broccoli florets and sliced carrot, along with the dried chilies. Stir-fry for another minute.
- Combine with Sauce: Pour the prepared sauce over the stir fry. Toss everything together until the sauce evenly coats the chicken and vegetables. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but still crisp.
- Finish with Spring Onions and Cashews: Add the chopped spring onions and roasted cashews. Give everything a final toss to combine.
- Serve: Serve the cashew chicken stir fry hot over steamed jasmine rice or noodles. Enjoy!
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