Today’s recipe is a Chinese dish: chicken with cashew nuts in a sweet and spicy sauce. Use the “one bowl method” to coat the chicken in the batter (rather than dipping the egg, cornmeal, and seasonings into separate bowls) and it works great! Serve the dish for dinner and you won’t be disappointed.
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What do we need for the recipe?
Chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, chopped into small pieces. You can substitute chicken breast if you like, but I find that chicken thighs hold up better at high heat, so they will be juicier in the middle.
Sauce and cashew nuts.
The main ingredient in this dish is, of course, the sauce, it will give the chicken a taste and allow you to enjoy the colors of the taste. To prepare it, we will need chicken broth, sesame oil and 3 different soy sauces: light and dark, and hoisin sauce.
What is the difference between them? Dark soy sauce lasts longer than light soy sauce. Caramel or black molasses is added to the dark sauce for color — a viscous essence obtained from sugar or caramel. The dark sauce also contains corn starch. The taste of the dark sauce is richer, but not as salty as the light sauce.
Dark soy sauce is used mainly in cooking. Its taste is revealed during heat treatment. Dark soy sauce is added to marinades to add color and flavor to the dish. But it is also suitable as a dipping sauce.
Hoisin sauce — Chinese sauce (Cantonese cuisine), has a sweet and spicy taste;
The name is a contraction of the Chinese words “gift of the sea” — although the sauce not only does not contain marine ingredients, but is also not usually used with them. It is made from fermented soybeans (soybean paste) with the addition of sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, red rice (which gives the sauce its characteristic dark mahogany color), garlic, honey, and a mixture of Five Spices.
How to cook cashew chicken?
- First, coat the chicken with an egg, then add cornmeal, paprika, salt, and white pepper. Fry in oil until crusty.
- Next, we make the sauce by combining sesame oil, cornmeal, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and broth. Mix, transfer to a saucepan and, stirring, bring to a boil.
- The sauce should thicken quickly. At this point, add the cooked chicken, cashews and chopped onions. Toss everything together to coat the sauce with the crispy chicken. Then serve.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the recipe, and it only takes 30 minutes to prepare!
Step-by-step recipe with photo: chicken with cashew nuts
Cashew nut chicken recipe
Crispy chicken baked in a thick sweet and spicy sauce with crunchy cashew nuts. Perfect for a Friday night dinner!
Ingredients
Chicken
- Chicken thighs - 6 pcs. without skin (about 500 gr.)
- Egg - 1 pc.
- Corn flour - 4 tbsp. l.
- Paprika - ½ tsp.
- Salt - ¼ tsp.
- White pepper - ¼ tsp.
- Oil - about 120 ml.
For the sauce
- Corn flour - 1 tbsp. l.
- Light soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l.
- Dark soy sauce - 1 tbsp. l.*
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Hoisin sauce - 3 tbsp. l.**
- Sugar - 2 tbsp. l. (preferably brown sugar)
- Sesame oil - 1 tbsp. l.
- Chicken broth - 120 ml.
Additionally
- Cashew nuts - 140 gr.
- Green onions - a small bunch
- Sesame seeds - 1 tsp.
- Chili pepper (ground) - a pinch
Instructions
Place the chicken in the bowl with the egg and toss together until the egg coats all the pieces. Drain the excess egg from the bowl and discard.
Add the cornmeal, paprika, salt and white pepper to the bowl with the chicken and toss. As a result, a sticky batter should remain on the chicken.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot.
Add chicken, fry until golden, turning. This should take about 7–8 minutes. You may need to make this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce.
Place the cornmeal, light and dark soy sauce, garlic and hoisin sauce in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Add the light-brown sugar, sesame oil, and chicken broth to a bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
When the chicken is ready, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and place it on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
Carefully drain the oil, then pour the sauce into the pan and heat until boiling.
Add the chicken to the pan, then add the cashews and half of the chopped onion.
Cook for 2 minutes to warm the cashews and remove from heat. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions, sesame seeds and a pinch of chili flakes. You can serve.
This dish tastes especially good with rice. Bon appétit!
Notes
- Swap the chicken for pork (use thin slices of pork tenderloin or tenderloin).
- Add some hot chili sauce (such as sriracha) to make the dish spicier.
- Add vegetables such as green beans, small pieces of broccoli or peppers. Fry them in a pan in oil for a few minutes — before adding the sauce to the pan. Then remove and continue with the recipe from step 7: bring the sauce to a boil, then add the vegetables, chicken, and cashews.
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Nutrition Information
Serving Size
4 servingsAmount Per Serving Calories 554Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0,1gCholesterol 106mgSodium 1424mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 2gSugar 12gProtein 24g
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Do you enjoy cooking Asian or Chinese dishes for dinner for the whole family? Take a look at our other delicious recipes that you might like: Noodle salad recipe, Broccoli Beef, or Cauliflower Fried Rice, which is perfect as a side dish for Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken.