Around the holidays we can get a little burned out and a little overloaded on indulgent food. Cashew chicken is light, delicious and so quick to make. This is another of my go to recipes when I know I won’t have a lot of time to make dinner. Tender pieces of chicken are cooked with ginger, garlic, peppers, onions and celery in a flavorful sauce made from oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, rice wine and sesame oil. Topped with cashews and served over rice, it is a quick and healthy dinner your and your family will love.
You can either cut the chicken into small cubes or into thin slices for this dish depending on your preference. I prefer thin slices. You can add additional vegetables here or switch out the ones you use, just make sure you only cook them briefly in a really hot pan. You are going for crisp tender with some browned spots from the hot pan. Trust me this dish isn’t nearly as good with mushy overcooked vegetables.
I serve this over hot rice (see my post on making perfect Asian white rice on the stove). If I have dumplings in my freezer I usually make those as well. This dish is perfect topped with my favorite chili crisp.
Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
For the dish:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced thin
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green bell pepper cut into pieces
- 1 red bell pepper cut into pieces
- 1 onion cut into pieces
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 1/2 cup cashews
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce or to taste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
- 1/4 cup water
- few dashes of white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp rice wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil