Chinese Cashew Chicken {30-Minute Meal}
Simple and quick, you won’t believe how easy it is to create this delicious, one-skillet Chinese Cashew Chicken at home. And, it’s way better than takeout!
This Chinese cashew chicken is definitely at the top of my list for quick, healthy, delicious meals I could dream about forever.
If you have my eCookbook, you’ll already know that I included a cashew chicken recipe in there, as well. It’s delicious (have you made it?).
But the world can’t exist with only one tasty variation of cashew chicken! At least, not my world.
Today’s recipe is tweaked a little bit with a key change being the first step that “velvets” the chicken.
If that term “velvet” combined with “chicken” confuses and kind of scares you, don’t worry, I promise it’s safe and ethical.
Basically, the chicken pieces rest in a bath of cornstarch and baking soda for about 15 minutes prior to cooking wherein some kind of food science happens.
A quick rinse and pop in the ultra-hot skillet, and you’re about to meet the most tender, juicy chicken of your life.
A 9-year old child in this family, who shall remain nameless but who absolutely, positively despises tough meat (don’t we all? he just likes to make it very clear when I’ve overcooked anything), exclaims every time we make this:
mom, this chicken is SOOOOO tender! can we eat this every night?
{implied, of course, that he’d rather not see the tough, stringy beef number from Sunday night reappear}
That velveting step really does take this Chinese cashew chicken up several notches. While it rests, chop up the peppers, whisk the sauce together, and get the rice cooking.
It may be a 30-minute meal, but you are going to have to work for it a little bit.
Trust me, it’s worth it.
One other tip for success is to get that skillet hotter than you feel comfortable. I know some of you may not want to crank the temperature up above medium, but I’m asking you to take a few steps out of your comfort zone, breathe deeply, and do it.
Probably one of the main reasons you and I love restaurant-style Chinese food so much is because the real deal Chinese restaurants don’t mess around when it comes to cooking.
Most of those dishes are called stir-fry for a reason. The pan and oil are so hot, the meat and veggies fry up up quick while the ingredients are stirred around to prevent burning.
While I don’t have a wok (my trusty 12-inch skillet does the job just fine), this dish benefits from flash-in-the-pan cooking. Tender, delicious chicken awaits you.
If you’ve been searching for a knockoff, homemade Chinese Cashew Chicken recipe, this should definitely pop itself onto your weekly meal lineup.
And if you want a stellar combination, try serving it with the Coconut Ginger Rice from the eCookbook. So, so heavenly.
What to Serve With This
- Hot, cooked rice
- Fresh, seasonal fruit or this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Steamed or roasted broccoli
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Chinese Cashew Chicken {30-Minute Meal}
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ to 1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped fresh ginger, or ginger paste from a tube
- 2 green bell peppers, seeded, cored and diced into bite-size pieces
- 1 to 1 ½ cups roasted cashews, I prefer unsalted
Sauce:
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Place the diced chicken in a medium bowl and toss with the 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Rinse the chicken in a colander and pat dry (I leave the rinsed chicken in the colander, grab a bunch of paper towels and dab all over the surface, kind of turning the chicken as I pat dry).
- In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. You want the skillet very hot.
- Add the chicken in a single layer and stir constantly; the chicken should turn white as it cooks – but not get overly brown. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes (it’s ok if it isn’t fully cooked yet; it will cook more in the next few steps).
- Scoot the chicken to the edges of the pan. Add another drizzle (a teaspoon or so) of olive oil to the center of the skillet.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the center of the skillet and mash gently as it cooks, about 30 seconds.
- Add the green peppers; stir to combine the chicken, garlic/ginger, and peppers.
- Whisk the sauce to recombine, and add it to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened, the chicken is cooked through, and the peppers are crisp-tender.
- Remove from the heat, add the cashews, and serve over hot, cooked rice (if desired).
Notes
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Recipe Source: adapted from Recipe Tin Eats (changed up the sauce and the ingredients for velveting the chicken, eliminated onions, and a few other things)
My husband is on a low potassium diet due to diabetes. Could you please include potassium in the nutrition information.
Thank you
I’ve made this dish so many times in the last four years it only felt right to come back and properly review it. My family regularly requests it and I’m guessing we have it about once a month. Whenever I’ve made it for company they think I’m some kind of kitchen wizard and beg for the recipe. A few adaptations I’ve made over the years is to skip the rinse of the chicken. Can’t tell the difference and the extra corn starch helps thicken the sauce a little more too. Speaking of sauce, we make 1.5x the recipe because it is so damn good. To soak up all that sauce (and in lieu of the green peppers) I add a ton of broccoli florets, sliced carrots, bamboo shoots, sliced water chestnuts and baby corn (the last three from cans I’ve found in the Asian food section of the grocery store). This is truly a five star recipe!!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was so delicious. The tenderness of the chicken (thanks for sharing the method of velveting) combined with the tender-crisp vegetables (carrots and sugar snap peas are what we used) in a tasty sauce was every bit as good as any restaurant. This is sure to become a staple at our house.
We love this chicken (and frankly EVERY Mel recipe) in our house – even the picky toddlers! For ease, I never rinse the chicken and haven’t been able to tell a dramatic taste difference, so if you also need one less step between you and dinner, I can recommend skipping the rinse
I made this a vegan dish by subbing tofu for the chicken and low sodium soy sauce for the oyster sauce. It was delicious and very filling! Thanks for the recipe!
My husband and two toddlers ate it all up! Made with the ginger coconut rice. Skipped the velveting the chicken step because I can tend to be a bit of a lazy home cook. It was still fantastic! Love all your recipes, Mel. You make my life as a mom to littles so much easier!!
Hello. This recipe came up when I googled non casserole recipes to take to a friend. Of course, any recipe would then have to be reheated. Would that be possible with this one and also with the rice? If not, have you another idea? Thank you.
Yes, it reheats really well!
This was amazing. I put down my bowl to write this review. I’ve never attempted anything like this before and it was delish. I didn’t have rice vinegar … used apple cider vinegar instead. I didn’t have sesame oil so used veg oil. I made it with 2.5 lbs of chicken tenders and doubled the recipe. Boy am I glad I did. It is super yummy. This is my husband’s fave dish and he liked it a whole lot.
I forgot to rinse afterward, will it still be edible and safe to eat?
It is safe to eat although the flavor may be kind of strong.
Restaurant quality!! Fantastic 🙂