Thai Cashew Chicken With Glossy Oyster Sauce
By Nora Kim
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
This cashew chicken recipe from Thailand takes 35 minutes from start to finish‚ 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook․ Serve this dish as a meal if you're in the mood for cashews and chicken in a Thai-style sauce that clings to the food but doesn't leave a pool of sauce at the bottom of the serving bowl․
Chop all ingredients before stir-frying to save time․ I often chop the white and green portions of spring onion separately because I use them at different times during stir-frying․ I also stir-fry cashews separately from chicken to better retain their flavor from the oil․ Cashews can easily darken․
After frying chicken and cashews‚ remove most of the oil from the pan and retain 2 tablespoons to fry vegetables․ At the end of the frying process‚ sugar will mix with oyster sauce and soy sauce․ Chicken‚ peppers‚ onions‚ and cashews should be coated with a shiny sauce․
I eat Thai cashew chicken bowls right away after making them․ The chicken and vegetables are hot and a little crispy․ Other options for eating these bowls include rice or noodles․ This recipe serves four people․ To serve‚ I set my wok in the middle of the table and provide a large spoon․
Why you'll love this recipe
- Dinner will be ready in 35 minutes after 15 minutes of prep time to chop vegetables․
- The sauce ingredients include oyster sauce‚ soy sauce‚ and sugar․ These can be purchased at most grocery stores․
- It feeds four․ Cashews cooked in the same pan are served with this dish․ No additional side dishes needed․
- The flour on the chicken helps keep the sauce on the chicken instead of the pan․
- Large chunks of onion and pepper are clearly identifiable and easy to pick out of the rice․
- Plain cabinet ingredients reduce your purchases‚ except that you might not have oyster sauce․
Ingredients
- •600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs (1.3 lb, diced into bite-sized pieces)
- •1 tsp white pepper
- •1 tbsp light soy sauce (+ 2 tsp, divided)
- •50 g plain flour (1/3 cup)
- •120 ml vegetable oil (1/2 cup, for frying)
- •200 g unsalted cashew nuts (7 oz)
- •2 medium white onions (halved, diced into quarters, and layers pulled apart)
- •2 medium peppers (use 1 red and 1 green, diced into pieces similar in size to the onion)
- •4 cloves garlic (finely diced)
- •2 red chillies (sliced, deseeded to reduce the spice if desired)
- •3 spring onions (separate the firm white and green parts, then chop into 2.5 cm or 1-inch pieces)
- •1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
- •1 tbsp oyster sauce
- •cooked rice (for serving)
Instructions
- 1
Put the chicken in a large mixing bowl with the white pepper and 2 teaspoons of the light soy sauce.
- 2
Mix in the flour until all of the chicken is coated.
- 3
Heat the oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
- 4
Add the cashews and fry until deep golden, stirring as they cook.
- 5
Lift the cashews out with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a bowl, leaving the oil in the pan.
- 6
Shake excess flour from half the chicken and add it to the hot oil.
- 7
Fry the chicken until golden and crisp outside and piping hot through the centre, about 5 minutes.
- 8
Remove the first batch with a slotted spoon, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
- 9
Discard all but around 2 tablespoons of the oil.
- 10
Add the peppers, onions, and garlic, then fry for a couple of minutes.
- 11
Add the chillies and firm white spring onion pieces, then fry for 1 minute longer.
- 12
Stir the chicken back into the pan.
- 13
Stir in the sugar, oyster sauce, and remaining 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce.
- 14
Toss in the cashews and green spring onion pieces until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce lightly coats everything.
- 15
Serve straight away with cooked rice.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
801
Protein
35.93g
Fat
60.77g
Carbs
31.81g
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