Description
Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is a flavorful and vibrant dish featuring tender chicken thigh strips stir-fried with crunchy roasted cashews, aromatic garlic, onion, and a bold Thai-inspired sauce. This dry-style stir fry balances savory, sweet, and spicy notes, making it a perfect quick and delicious weeknight meal served over jasmine rice.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, unsalted
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 onion (brown, yellow, or white), cut into thin wedges
- 200g/7oz chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, sliced into 1cm / 1/3″ thin strips
- 2 green onions, cut into 2.5cm / 1” lengths, white part separated from green part
- 1/2 red cayenne pepper, deseeded and finely sliced on the diagonal (optional, adjust for spiciness)
For the Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 3 tbsp water
To Serve
- Red chilli, finely sliced (optional garnish)
- Jasmine rice or other rice of choice
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, white sugar, and water until well combined. Set aside.
- Cook Cashews: Heat peanut oil over medium heat in a wok or large skillet. Add the raw cashews and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they become a dark golden color and crunchy. Remove cashews using a slotted spoon and set aside to prevent overcooking.
- Sauté Garlic and Onion: Increase heat to high and add finely minced garlic and onion wedges to the skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant and slightly softened.
- Cook Chicken: Add the chicken thigh strips to the skillet. Stir-fry for 1 minute until the outer surfaces change from pink to white.
- Add White Part of Green Onions and Cayenne Pepper: Incorporate the white parts of the green onions and the sliced red cayenne pepper. Continue to cook for another 1 minute until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Add Sauce: Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken mixture. Stir continuously and cook for about 1 minute until the sauce reduces and thickens to a syrupy consistency that coats the chicken nicely.
- Finish with Greens and Cashews: Add the green parts of the green onions and the roasted cashews. Toss everything together for 30 seconds to combine and heat through.
- Serve: Transfer the stir fry to a serving dish. Serve hot with jasmine rice or your choice of rice, garnished with extra finely sliced red chili if desired for added heat.
Notes
- This recipe features a dry-style Thai stir fry where the sauce is reduced to coat the ingredients rather than having a lot of liquid.
- Adjust the amount of red cayenne pepper and red chili garnish to control the spiciness level to your preference.
- Using raw cashews and toasting them in oil ensures they become crunchy and flavorful; you can substitute with roasted cashews if preferred, but they will not crisp up as much.
- The combination of oyster sauce, dark soy, and fish sauce creates a layered, intensely savory flavor typical of Thai cuisine.
- The dish pairs best with jasmine rice, which complements the bold flavors and soaks up the savory sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 454 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 982 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 25 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
