I think you’ll be surprised at not only how delicious this Thai Cashew Chicken is, but also how easy it is to make!
This recipe was developed by my step-mum, who happens to be an incredible Thai home cook (yes, I was fed very well growing up). As such, this recipe is as authentic as it gets. Better still, it only requires simple store-bought ingredients! Follow me…
Thai Cashew Chicken Ingredients
The ONLY tweak we made to this recipe was to switch out dried red chillies for fresh ones. This was just to keep in line for being able to buy everything at the supermarket. I find dried red chillies can sometimes be tricky to hunt down. Apart from that, these are the exact ingredients my step-mum has used for many, many years to make this incredible dish. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken – I highly recommend using chicken thigh. It’s much less prone to overcooking and drying out than breast is.
- White Pepper – This is to season the chicken directly. It adds a lovely kick of spice.
- Flour – This is to coat the chicken. It helps create a gorgeous, golden coating, which in turn, helps the sauce stick to the chicken.
- Oil – Use a neutral-flavoured oil that’s suitable for frying (Vegetable, Sunflower).
- Cashews – Make sure you’re using unsalted cashews. Keep them whole so they hold their own in the recipe.
- Onion – This recipe uses white onions. They’re diced nice and chunky too.
- Peppers – I use one red and one green, but realistically, you can use any colour.
- Spring Onion – This is also kept nice and chunky. You’ll want to split the onions into ‘green soft’ end and ‘firm white’ end. This is because they cook at different rates.
- Garlic – Lots of garlic for a good punch of flavour.
- Soy Sauce – Some of this is used to season the chicken, the rest is added to the sauce.
- Oyster Sauce – This is added at the end to create the sauce.
- Sugar – This is also added at the end to help create a sweet, glossy sauce that sticks to the chicken.
- Chillies – These are just regular red chillies you can get from the supermarket.
Recipe Tip
This recipe comes together quite quickly in the wok, so I recommend having everything ready to rock ‘n’ roll before you start cooking.
Chicken and Cashews
These are arguably the two standout ingredients, so it’s important to help them both shine. We’re actually going to fry the cashews before the chicken. This is so they can infuse the oil, which in turn, will wrap around the chicken as it fries. Here are a couple of notes on both the chicken and cashews:
- Chicken – I highly recommend frying the chicken in two batches so it doesn’t stick together. Frying in batches will also give the chicken room to crisp up without steaming too much.
- Cashews – These go from perfectly golden to burnt VERY quickly, so just be vigilant and keep stirring as you fry.
Process shots: coat chicken in soy sauce and white pepper (photo 1), coat in flour (photo 2), add cashews to oil (photo 3), fry then remove (photo 4), fry chicken in batches then remove (photos 5&6)
After you’ve fried the chicken and cashews, you can go ahead and remove most of the oil (just save some to fry the veg). From there, it’s just like a stir fry and comes together very quickly.
Thai Cashew Chicken Sauce
As discussed above, all you need is oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. These, alongside the excess oil, create a light, glossy sauce that wraps around the chicken. It’s not too much at all and really just pulls all the flavours together.
Process shots: add onion, peppers and garlic to wok (photo 7), fry (photo 8), fry chilli and firm part of spring onion (photo 9), add chicken and sauce (photo 10), add cashews and green part of spring onion (photo 11), toss (photo 12).
Thai Cashew Chicken FAQ
As discussed, you’ll get better results with thigh, but you can substitute breast. Just be aware it’ll cook more quickly and won’t develop crust as well.
You get a nice kick of spice from the white pepper and chillies. If you aren’t good with spice, make sure you deseed the chillies.
Yes, so long as you’ve got a large, deep pan to work with.
How to Serve Thai Cashew Chicken
You’ll want to serve as soon as you can, just so everything is hot, fresh and crisp. From there, I typically serve this with rice, but noodles would work too.
Looking for more authentic Thai recipes? Check out these beauties:
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this Thai cashew chicken shall we?!
How to make Thai Cashew Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
Thai Cashew Chicken
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Bowl & Tongs (for coating chicken)
- Large Wok & Wooden Spoon (or a large pan)
- Slotted Spoon (for removing cashews/chicken)
Ingredients
- 600g / 1.3lbs boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, diced into bite-sized pieces (see notes)
- 1 tsp White Pepper
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
- 50g / 1/3 cup Plain Flour
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Veg Oil (for frying)
- 200g / 7oz Unsalted Cashew Nuts
- 2 medium White Onions, halved then diced into quarters (pull layers apart)
- 2 medium Peppers, I use 1 red 1 green (diced into pieces to similar size as the onion)
- 4 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 2 Red Chillies, deseeded if you want to reduce spice (see notes)
- 3 Spring Onion, separated into firm white part and green part, then chopped into 2.5cm/1" pieces
- 1 1/2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- Cooked Rice, for serving
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the white pepper and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Mix in the flour until the chicken is fully coated.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan/wok over a medium-high heat for a few minutes. Once hot, add the cashews and fry until deep golden. Keep an eye on them, as they’ll burn quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl to one side, leaving the oil behind.
- Working in two batches, shake off any excess flour from the chicken and add it to the oil. Fry until golden and crisp on the outside and piping hot right through the centre (about 5 minutes per batch). Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard all but around 2 tablespoons of oil (just eyeball it).
- Add the peppers, onions and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the chilli and firm white parts of the spring onions and fry for a minute longer. Stir in the chicken, then stir in the sugar, oyster sauce and remaining 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Toss in the cashews and the rest of the spring onion. The sugar should have fully dissolved and the sauce should have a glossy texture that just lightly coats everything. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
