Better than Takeout Cashew Chicken

Make a Better-Than-Takeout Cashew Chicken at home. Enjoy tender chicken with toasted crunchy cashews drenched in a delicious sauce! You can whip up this restaurant-quality dish within 30 minutes, quicker than placing a delivery order. Pair cashew chicken with Spring Rolls, hot and sour chicken soup, or fried rice.

I’m not a big fan of velveting chicken, but I like it tender. The quick cooking method I share in this recipe seals the juices in the kitchen, and the sauce with a little sweetness from the sugar complements it.

Do not worry. This dish is not sweet; the ingredients come together perfectly, balancing all the flavors involved. This dish will come out perfect, even if this is your first time making it. This is a fail-proof cashew chicken recipe!

What is Cashew Chicken?

Cashew Chicken is a scrumptious Chinese takeout dish with stir-fried chicken pieces and cashews coated with a sweet and savory brown sauce!

It’s a classic dish and one of my go-to’s when I’m looking for a takeout dish! But since I’ve experimented, and figured out this recipe, I prefer to make it at home.

Where was Cashew Chicken Recipe Invented?

It’s a Chinese-American dish that was first made in Springfield, Missouri, in 1963 by chef David Leong at a restaurant called Grove Supper Club.

This dish is now synonymous with Springfield and is usually referred to as Springfield-style Cashew Chicken.

Cashew Chicken Sauce

This recipe is all about its mouth-watering secret sauce, which has sparked much speculation about its exact ingredients.

Making Cashew Chicken sauce requires the simplest ingredients—which you probably already have in your pantry!

The Sauce Ingredients

• Soy Sauce: This adds the classic umami flavor we love in Chinese cuisine.

• Oyster Sauce: A sauce that’s readily available in every grocery store, this sauce boosts the umami flavors in the recipe that are perfectly balanced with the sweetness.

• Sesame oil: It adds an unbeatable nuttiness to the chicken and overall sauce that goes perfectly with the cashew nuts!

• Brown sugar: This is what we’ll use to get that perfect sweetness that balances out the savory tanginess in the sauce from all the umami flavors. I’ve gotten better results using this than honey.

• Black pepper: The last ingredient, apart from some plain water. It adds a subtle heat to the recipe which brings out all the other flavors perfectly.

Other Ingredients

Apart from the delicious sauce ingredients listed in the previous section, here is all that you’ll need to make Cashew Chicken at home:

Chicken: I’ve opted for boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts as an alternative.

Cashews: Of course, this recipe is incomplete without cashew nuts! I’ve used ½ a cup in the recipe.

All-purpose flour: My recipe requires all-purpose flour instead of cornstarch. It’s used to coat the chicken. I have noticed that the texture is better when reheating the dish.

Dried red chili: The chili adds a crunchy, spicy flavor to the dish.

Garlic: Chinese takeout is incomplete without garlic. For this recipe, I’ve cut four cloves of garlic into thin slices.

Veggies: I’ve included thinly sliced onions and chopped spring onions. They add extra flavor and texture to Cashew Chicken. Other vegetables you can add are broccoli, red bell peppers, celery, or carrots, they go well with the sauce.

How to Make Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Step 1

Make the sauce: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Keep this aside for now.

Step 2

Fry cashews and chilis: Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry cashews and dry chilis until the cashews turn golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Step 3

Coat chicken with flour and fry: Coat the chicken with flour. Fry the chicken in previous hot oil until golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Step 4

Fry onions and garlic: In a large skillet, fry onions for 1 minute. Now, add the garlic and then the chicken, and stir for 1 minute on high heat. Add the cashews and dry chilis you previously fried as well.

Step 5

Add sauce: Next, add the sauce we prepped previously and stir well for a few seconds. Add chopped scallions, stir for a few seconds, then turn off the heat.

Ready to serve: Cashew nut chicken is now ready to serve on a bed of rice.

Expert Tips

• Like all Chinese dishes, it is best to keep all the ingredients ready and near you, once you start cooking since this dish is prepared quickly.
• I’m not fond of velveting the chicken; I depend on high heat to sear the juices. However, you can also use my Chicken Brine to make the chicken juicy. Keep the chicken pieces in the brine for 10 minutes and then cook them.
• If you wish to add veggies, do so when adding the onion to help them stay crisp.
• I prefer to use low-sodium soy sauce in my cooking; you have better control over the amount in your dish.
• When using more chicken, fry them in batches.

Storing and Reheating

Store the cashew chicken in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days.

You can reheat it in the microwave, splash it with a small amount of water and microwave for a minute. It’s best to reheat it on stovetop and splash it with water to restore the texture of the sauce and separate the chicken peices.

Freezing won’t work with this dish.

More Chicken Recipes

Related Recipes

Easy Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry.

Chicken Manchurian recipes.

Orange chicken recipe.

Chicken fried rice.

Chicken Teriyaki Skewers recipe.

⭐ Please Rate and Review

If you have tried my Better than Takeout Cashew Chicken and liked it, please give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment below with your experience!