This popular Chinese takeaway style chicken with cashew nuts recipe is great for a midweek dinner, with healthy onion, carrot, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.
Chinese takeaway dishes are great fun to recreate at home, mainly because they are so tasty, and also because stir frying is so quick and eventful. With ingredients prepared, the cooking process takes just a few minutes, which makes many of these dishes ideal for midweek dinners too. When time is short, a hot wok and this easy recipe are your friend!
Ingredients For Chicken With Cashew Nuts
As well as the chicken and cashew nuts included in the name, this dish is also loaded with healthy vegetables like onion, carrot, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. The ingredients are wok-fried and combined with garlic and a delicious savoury sauce made with oyster sauce, soy sauce and light stock.
Chicken: Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast, Sea Salt, White Pepper, MSG, Potato Starch, Sunflower Oil, Water.
Vegetables: Onion, Carrot, Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts.
Sauce: Oyster Sauce, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Tomato Ketchup, White Pepper, MSG, Light Chicken Stock, Potato Starch, Water.
Other Ingredients: Sunflower Oil, Cashew Nuts, Chopped Garlic In Oil, Rice Wine, Sesame Oil.
How To Make Chicken With Cashew Nuts
Step 1: Prepare The Chicken & Sauce
In a bowl, add the sliced chicken, sea salt, white pepper, MSG, potato starch, sunflower oil and water. Mix well and set aside. In a separe small bowl, add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, ketchup, white pepper, MSG and light chicken stock. Mix well and set aside.
Step 2: Cook Chicken With Cashew Nuts
Heat a small pot with water and bring to the boil. Add the marinated chicken, bring back to a boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is sealed. Drain through a colander.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sunflower oil. Add the sliced onion, carrot, bamboo shoots, chestnuts and cashew nuts and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped garlic in oil and chicken and stir fry for another 30-40 seconds. Add the prepared sauce, mix well and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly. Add the potato starch and water mix, stirring well (all of the mix may not be needed). Add rice wine and sesame oil and mix well once more.
Step 3: Serve
Transfer to a serving plate and serve with egg fried rice and prawn crackers.
I hope you’ll try this chicken with cashew nuts recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Equipment
- 1 Wok or Large Frying Pan
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 chicken breast, sliced
- Pinch sea salt
- Pinch white pepper
- Pinch msg
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon potato starch or cornflour
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- Dash dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon tomato ketchup
- Pinch white pepper
- Pinch msg
- 125 ml light chicken stock
Stir-Fry
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1/2 onion roughly chopped
- 1/2 carrot thinly sliced
- 1 small handful tinned bamboo shoots rinsed, drained and sliced
- 1 small handful tinned water chestnuts rinsed, drained and sliced
- 1 handful raw cashew nuts see notes
- 1 generous teaspoon chopped garlic in oil
- 1 teaspoon potato flour or cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- Dash sesame oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the sliced chicken, sea salt, white pepper, MSG, potato starch, sunflower oil and water. Mix well and set aside. In a separe small bowl, add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, ketchup, white pepper, MSG and light chicken stock. Mix well and set aside.
- Heat a small pot with water and bring to the boil. Add the marinated chicken, bring back to a boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is sealed. Drain through a colander.Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sunflower oil. Add the sliced onion, carrot, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and cashew nuts and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped garlic in oil and chicken and stir fry for another 30-40 seconds. Add the prepared sauce, mix well and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly. Add the potato starch and water mix, stirring well (all of the mix may not be needed). Add rice wine and sesame oil and mix well once more.
- Transfer to a serving plate and serve with egg fried rice and prawn crackers.
Chinese Restaurant Style Chicken With Cashews Recipe FAQ
What is MSG and why should I use it?
MSG is monosodium glutamate, a seasoning ingredient widely used in Chinese takeaway kitchens, in pure form or as an ingredient in soy sauces and other seasoning sauces. It’s definitely an ingredient you should add to your Chinese takeaway style cooking. Despite historic baseless claims of its dangers, it has been widely proven to be safe for use in cooking. In fact, many of the myths and lies about MSG were deliberately and maliciously spread as a form of racism. You can find MSG naturally in many foodstuffs including broccoli, cheese and tomatoes. It’s available online or in Chinese supermarkets. You can learn more about MSG from the brilliant Chin Taylor of Ziang’s Kitchen here.
Do I need a carbon steel wok to cook Chicken with Cashew Nuts?
You can cook this chicken & cashews dish in any large wok or frying pan. But, investing in a carbon steel wok is a great way to improve your Chinese takeaway style cooking. With the wok properly seasoned, ingredients can be cooked quickly over high heat, adding delicious flavour to stir fry dishes.
Do you like this Chinese takeaway style chicken with cashew nuts recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make chicken noodle soup, char siu pork, black pepper sauce, salt & chilli chips and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
