Transform your kitchen into a Thai haven in just 20 minutes! Our quick and delicious Thai Cashew Chicken is made from juicy chicken, fresh onions, zesty chilies, and crunchy cashews. Definitely, an unforgettable stir-fry.
Craving a quick and tasty dinner fix? This Thai Cashew Chicken brings together succulent chicken, aromatic garlic, and a generous handful of toasted cashews. It’s a flavor-packed adventure that hits all the right notes – a bit of heat, a touch of sweetness, and that satisfying crunch of cashews in every bite.
My true love affair with Thai food blossomed after going to a Thai restaurant, and I impulsively ordered the Thai Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Suffice it to say, it is the single most delicious dish on the planet. But now, I’m excited to recreate this delectable meal in my kitchen! I’ll be pairing it with a cool Thai Iced Tea for a perfect homemade Thai dining experience.
Table of Contents
Reasons to Love This Chicken
- This Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry offers a unique blend of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, captivating your taste buds.
- Ready in 20 minutes, this dish is perfect for busy days when you crave a delicious homemade meal.
- This meal is great for leftovers as it tastes even better the next day as flavors meld.
- It brings the essence of Thai cuisine to your home.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: The primary protein of the dish and provides the base for all other flavors.
- Roasted Cashew Nuts: A key ingredient that adds crunch and a nutty flavor.
- Garlic: Essential for its aromatic qualities that add depth and a savory kick.
- Yellow Onion: Offers sweetness and texture.
- Dried Red Chilies: Contribute a spicy element crucial for the dish’s signature heat and flavor.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Green Bell Pepper for Green Onion: Adds crunch and a mild, sweet flavor while maintaining the dish’s color and vibrancy.
- Tofu for Chicken: For a vegetarian twist, firm tofu can replace chicken, absorbing the flavors well.
- Lighter Sauce: For a twist on the traditional recipe, try using oyster sauce for a lighter yet umami-rich sauce. Its savory depth complements the chicken and cashews.
- Maple Syrup for Brown Sugar: Maple syrup provides a unique, sweet flavor as an alternative to brown sugar.
How to Make Thai Cashew Chicken
Step #1: Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Step #2: Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough to produce a sizzle when a drop of water hits it, add all the cashew nuts. Fry the cashews until they turn light brown, just a few minutes.
Step #3: Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel to rest.
Step #4: Add the garlic, onion, and dried red chilies to the oil. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until you can start to smell the spicy aroma of the chilies.
Step #5: Add the chicken and continue to stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque and is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
Step #6: Return the cashews to the pan and toss them around the pan to distribute them.
Step #7: Add the sauce to the wok and toss all the ingredients to coat them well.
Step #8: Turn off the heat and add the chopped scallions.
Step #9: Lastly, serve immediately with a side of jasmine rice.
Expert Tips
- Lime Lift: Squeeze fresh lime juice just before serving to brighten the flavors, adding a citrusy zing that elevates your Thai Chicken Cashew to culinary perfection.
- Chicken Preparation: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces for uniform cooking and flavor absorption.
- Use a Wok: If available, use a wok for authentic stir-fry cooking and better heat distribution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Chicken thighs are a flavorful alternative to breast meat. They are juicier and richer in taste, though slightly higher in fat. You can use it in the same quantity as breast meat.
Chicken pieces should be cooked until they’re no longer pink inside and the juices run clear. Use a meat thermometer to check; the internal temperature should reach 165°F (75°C).
For a thicker sauce, mix a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and stir it into the sauce. Heat until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency.
Yes. Raw cashews work best.
For a tender chicken, marinate the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce and cornstarch for about 15 minutes before cooking. It can help tenderize the meat and enhance its flavor.
Storage info
To store Thai Chicken Cashew, place it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. While freezing is possible, it may affect the texture of the vegetables and nuts. For reheating, gently warm it in a microwave or on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of water if it seems dry.
If you love Thai food and Thai cooking as much as I do, then check out my post on 10 Kitchen Essentials for Thai Home Cooking.
More Delicious Recipes That You Will Love
Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Stir-Fry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 1/2 small yellow onion - quartered
- 4 finger-length dried red chillies - such as chile de arbol, seeded and cut into halves
- 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts
- 8 ounces boneless - skinless chicken breast, cut into thin pieces (about one large chicken breast – hold your knife at an angle and slice against the grain to get the thinnest pieces possible)
- 1 green onion - cut into 1” lengths
Instructions
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough to produce a sizzle when a drop of water hits it, add all the cashew nuts. Fry the cashews until they turn light brown, just a few minutes.
- Remove the cashews from the oil with a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel to rest.
- Add the garlic, onion, and dried red chilies to the oil in the wok. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until you can start to smell the spicy aroma of the chilies.
- Add the chicken into the wok and continue to stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque and is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- Return the cashews to the pan and toss them around the pan to distribute them.
- Add the sauce to the wok and toss all the ingredients to coat them well.
- Turn off the heat and add the chopped scallions.
- Serve immediately with a side of jasmine rice.
VIDEO
NOTES
Nutrition
This.was.excellent. !!! Seriously. I no longer need to dine
out and order this dish. This recipe nails it! A couple things I
noticed… 1. My cashews burned. I had to make another batch. They
really only need to be in the pan for about 30 seconds. 2. I
doubled the chicken and the green onion. Hubby wants even more
onion. 3. I will double the sauce moving forward. We like enough to
pour over the rice and just get all those wonderful flavors
throughout. Kudos on a wonderful dish!
Thanks so much, Amy! The cashews can be tricky. I usually like to keep one outside the pan to compare the starting color; otherwise, I let them go too long! It also depends on if you are using gas, electric, etc. I’m so glad you liked it!
Looks wonderful! The Pacific NW has the BEST Thai and Asian food. We just moved back after two years in Michigan, and the difference is incredible. My favorite Thai dish is Pad Si Ew, by far, but this Cashew Chicken looks incredible! Thanks for sharing!
Well welcome back to the area! We are so spoiled – the restaurants around here are amazing!
I also LOVE Pad See Ew. Unfortunately, I can’t find a recipe for that dish that tastes anything like I’d find in a Thai restaurant. I’m from Portland but moved to the coast. Now I don’t have great Thai restaurants all around but am having major cravings for this dish. Do you have a tried and true recipe for Pad See Ew or Pad Keep Mao? If so, where might I find it?
Hi, Corie! I don’t have a recipe for Pad See Ew yet. I’ll have to start working on one!
Hey, recipe looks great. I would add a tbsp of roasted chili paste, though. You can find many brands in shops with thai products. E.g. Mae Pranom. Also, I sometimes deep-fry the chicken pieces in advance, just rolled in potato starch or tapioca flour. I had that a few times in Thailand and it is great but heavy.
Definitely a great idea! I love to change up recipes and try new substitutions and add-ins 🙂
I made this tonight, (well, sorta, details to follow), and it was FANTASTIC!
First off, I still had some leftover Thanksgiving turkey I needed to use up, (don’t worry, it was in the fridge in my garage, which hovers just around freezing, so it was fine). Next, the fish sauce in my cupboard was kinda old, but, what-the-hey, IT’S FISH SAUCE.
And, since I was using a bunch more turkey than the recipe which called for chicken called for, I roughly quadrupled the quantities, but I think the overall result came pretty close.
I have a burner for a bullet smoker that doubles as a turkey fryer, which triples as a KILLER WOK BURNER, far higher temps than you’ll ever get out of a stove.
So the pre-frying of the cashews gave them a nice golden color, REALLY brought out the cashew flavor, the aromatics were smoking hot and throwing out major spicy fumes.
The overall result was smoky, spicy, redolent of rich fish sauce and nutty cashew goodness, and that was just with leftover turkey. Can’t wait to try it with chicken, and maybe toss a few shrimp in there, too. I think I’ll stay away from adding too much outside ingredients, i.e., carrot, peppers, etc., because what you really want here is CHICKEN (or turkey, or shrimp) flavored with the aromatics and killer spicy and crunchy cashews. You can eat stir-fry with veggies anytime, you gotta try this like it is to really get the intent of the recipe.
Many thanks,
The RoadLord
Awesome! So glad you liked it – I’m total sucker for anything with cashews in it. I wouldn’t worry too much about the fish sauce either… how bad could fermented fish and salt get? 😉
Precisely!
Thanks for the great recipe, looking forward to trying more, 🙂
I made this a few night’s ago and it was really great! I’m also from Portland and Cashew Chicken is almost always my go-to when trying a new Thai restaurant. I have been dying to find a recipe to replicate it at home, but it seems there are so many different variations out there to the sauce, which I think is one of the best elements to the dish. This is probably the 4th different recipe I’ve tried and it’s the closest I’ve had so far, though the sauce is still not quite spot on to what I get in the restaurants. I just cannot figure out the blasted ingredients… I think you’re on to something with the sweet soy sauce, though. I’d never cooked with it before, but was definitely in the right direction. Tempted to ask the server if they’ll drop any hints at my next Thai food excursion.
ANYWAY–this recipe was still really yummy. I added bell peppers and carrot slices. Next time will add some water chestnuts too as that’s what my fav. Thai restaurant does. Really appreciated the tips on “stir-fry” and cooking the chicken, especially, because mine usually does come out moreso poached, and it came out perfectly this time, thanks to your cooking tips. Thanks!!
Hi, Joy! We are so lucky to live in Portland – the Thai food here is amazing! I’m so glad that the tips on stir-frying helped you out. It took me a while to get the hang of doing it right, so I’m always happy when I can spread the word. This recipe is pretty darn close to the one I order at my favorite place, but I have tried a few others in Portland that were much sweeter. If you think that the sauce should be sweeter for your tastes, you might try adding in a bit of sweet red chili sauce or extra sugar. Let me know how it goes!
I’m so incredibly excited that I stumbled across your blog …a friend named Lizz posted your link and you’ve made me excited about cooking again…I’ve been married for almost 14 years and I have we have an 11 yr old son….sometimes coming up with new things to make for dinner gets hard…I found myself in a bit of a rut but your recipes have lightened that spark inside me again. Its official, I will be having a Thai night soon and I hope to attempt a couple of your recipes. Thank you for blogging…I’m officially a fan and I can’t wait to let you know how it goes 🙂
Hi, Alexandria! I’m so happy to have you here – Lizz has been trying lots of my recipes lately and I’m so glad she is sharing them. I love hearing that I can help you get back in the kitchen with new and exciting ideas. That’s what this is all about!! I can’t wait to share more recipes with you. Thanks for being here!