Asian Cashew Chicken [Better Than Takeout]

Asian Cashew Chicken is definitely better than Takeout Chinese food recipe, you can easily make at home. Cashew and Chicken Stir fry is tossed in a sweet and sour sauce made with Hoisin Sauce, Garlic, Rice Wine Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Sriracha, and Sugar is a perfect homemade Chinese take out recipe, best served with a humble bowl of hot white rice.

Hey friends! Today I have got you guys one of the most loved Chinese recipes which we love to order! Cashew Chicken is not only a tasty chicken dinner recipe but is super quick to make. It takes just 15 minutes to make this. I think your Take Out food takes longer than that to deliver.

This Asian Cashew Chicken is a stir fry of Chicken with Cashews, along with Garlic, Scallions, and Green Bell Pepper.

Ingredients used to make Asian Cashew Chicken

1 lbs Chicken - I have used Boneless and Skinless Chicken which I have cut into bite-sized chunks. Also, I have used cooked chicken pieces, which I have coated with cornflour and fried.

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil - For that true blue Asian Flavor, I have used Sesame Oil. This provides an authentic nutty taste to this dish.

2 tablespoon Cornflour - I have used Cornflour to toss the chicken. Coating the seasoned Chicken pieces in cornflour and then frying them in sesame oil, turns then crispy, just like take out style!

Ingredients used To make the Sauce for Cashew Chicken

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce - Hoisin Sauce gives a deep sweet flavor to this Cashew Chicken.

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar - Rice Wine Vinegar, gives the perfect depth of Asian Flavors to this dish.

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce - I have used Dark Soy Sauce. This is low in sodium and high on color and hence results in deep soy flavors and less sodium.

1 Teaspoon Sriracha - Sriracha gives it that perfect heat and spice, typical of a Chinese dish.

1 Tablespoon Sugar - Sugar is very important for this recipe. This is typically a sweet recipe.

5-6 cloves of Garlic - Garlic gives this recipe that spice kick, quintessential of Asian Recipes.

How to make Asian Cashew Chicken

Making this Asian Cashew Chicken involves just three steps:

Step 1: The first step is to fry the Chicken. So, begin by Boiling the Chicken Pieces. Once they are partially cooked, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Toss them with Salt, Pepper, and Cornflour and fry them in a Pan, over high heat using Sesame Oil. Fry the Chicken Pieces for about 5 minutes, tossing frequently until it gets golden brown on both sides.

Step 2: Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining - Dark Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Sriracha, Sugar, and Rice Wine Vinegar. Mix everything until combined.

Step 3: In the same Pan, add the Garlic, Bell Peppers, and the sauce. Saute over high flame for 1-2 minutes and take it off the heat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with a humble bowl of hot white rice.

See, I told you! This recipe of Asian Cashew Chicken is so so so easy.

How to make Low Carb & Keto Cashew Chicken

Make the following changes for the Keto Cashew Chicken recipe:

Replace Sesame Oil with Coconut Oil

Replace Soy Sauce with Coconut Aminos or Tamari Sauce

Replace Sugar with Keto Sweetener

Replace Sriracha with Chili Garlic Sauce

Replace Cornflour with Rice Flour or ArrowRoot Flour

Sadly, you cannot replace anything with Hoisin Sauce. However, since you'd be using Keto sweetener and Coconut Aminos, it'll bring this Keto Cashew Chicken much closer to the authentic recipe.

The use of Hoisin Sauce

Many people do not think the importance of Hoisin sauce in this Asian Cashew Chicken. Hosin sauce gives a deep sweetness to this dish. It's responsible for the color, texture, and taste of this Cashew Chicken.

How to replace Hoisin Sauce - The perfect substitute for Hoisin Sauce

Ideally, there isn't any replacement. However, you can combine 2 tablespoon of Oyster Sauce, 1 teaspoon of Barbeque Sauce, 1 teaspoon of Chili Garlic Sauce, and 2 tablespoon of Brown Sugar to make a sauce which tastes closer to an actual Hoisin Sauce. This quantity will yield you 1/4 cup of Hoisin sauce. (For this Cashew Chicken recipe, you would need about 1/4 cup hoisin sauce for 1 lbs Chicken).

Other possible variations to this recipe

You can make a couple of variations to this recipe

• Vegetables - Veggies add a bit of crunch to this Cashew Chicken. I know, it's not typically used in Authentic style Chinese Cashew Chicken, but for your homemade version, a couple of veggies like Snow Peas, Broccoli, Bokchoy, or Bell Peppers won't hurt, right!
• Shaoxing Wine - This is the most commonly used Chinese wine for cooking. It's very cheap to buy and you will find it in the International Aisle. If you cannot find this, you can use dry white wine as a replacement.
• Toast the Cashew - I have used Raw Cashew. However, you can toast it. Toast it in the oven at 350F for 2-3 minutes.
• Garnish - Garnish with Scallions and Sesame Seeds

Serving Options for Cashew Chicken

You can serve this with Rice Ideally this tastes the best with white rice. The sweet and spicy taste of this tastes best with plain white rice.

However, you can also serve with Brown Rice or Rice Noodles or Ramen or Pasta as well.

How to store leftover Cashew Chicken

Storing Cashew Chicken can get tricky because the Chicken will dry out as they are deep-fried. So I suggest you do not make it in advance.

However, you can cool it down to room temperature and store it in Tupperware or glass storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat on the stove or in a Microwave safe bowl until heated throughout.

You can also make the sauce in advance and store it in an airtight container for about 2-3 days.

And you can toss the chicken with cornflour, salt, and pepper and keep it in an ait tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Before you use it, allow it to come down to room temperature and then fry the chicken.

Let's talk flavors

Finally, I know you would want to know how exactly this one tastes! This one tastes like a perfect Asian Chicken dinner recipe. It's sweet, sour, and sticky! It's not exactly very spicy. Bit there's just a little bit of heat, quintessential to other Chinese recipes. However, this is mostly sweet.

Tips to make the Best Cashew Chicken

• You can use Rice Flour in place of Cornflour for a crispy Chicken.
• You can toast the Cashew in the oven and then use it.
• Your Cashew Chicken should essentially be sweet. If it's too salty, it's because you have used too much of Soy sauce.
• Use Dark Soy Sauce as its less in sodium and high in flavors.
• Balance the salt in the dish with brown sugar.
• You can soak and use Raw Cashew Nuts.
• Serve this with Coconut Fried Rice for the best flavors.

Other Asian recipes:

Asian Sweet and Sour Teriyaki Cauliflower Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken

Tofu Teriyaki

Chinese Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry