Chicken and Cashew

Dinner | Chinese

Prep time: 1 min Cook time: 1 min Servings: 4

One thing I love about wok cooking is that the recipe usually take under 30 minutes. That's because we're cooking the dish over a high heat, so everything cooks very quickly. This is one of my favourite 30 minute dinners, chicken and cashew stir fry.

My biggest tip with cooking on a wok is to make sure everything is cut and prepped before you start cooking. Once we start cooking, it will go fast so you need to be ready.

Ingredient Notes

Dried birdseye chillies: Small, very hot dried chillies that infuse heat and fragrance into the oil at the start of cooking. Five whole ones gives a genuinely spicy result. If you prefer less heat, start with 2 or 3. They go in early and are removed before serving, so the heat is distributed rather than concentrated. Find them at Asian grocery stores or in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets.

Oyster sauce: The backbone of the sauce. Oyster sauce adds sweetness, umami and body in a way that other sauces don’t replicate well. Don’t substitute with hoisin or sweet soy. It’s widely available at supermarkets and, once opened, keeps for months in the fridge. Worth having a bottle on hand for any stir-fry.

Cornflour slurry: One tablespoon of cornflour mixed with 1½ tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl before it goes into the wok. The cornflour gelatinises in the hot sauce and thickens it to a glossy, clingy consistency. Always pre-mix it rather than adding dry cornflour directly to the wok, which leaves lumps that don’t dissolve.

Equipment

Wok (or large frying pan)
Wok spatula or tongs
Slotted spoon
Chef’s knife and chopping board
Kitchen scales
Small bowl (for cornflour slurry)

Ingredients

2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, canola, peanut)
½ cup cashews
5 whole dried birdseye chillies (optional)
1 brown onion, sliced
1 green capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, finely sliced julienne
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 chicken thigh fillets, sliced 1cm thick
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1½ tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
steamed rice, to serve

Directions

Heat oil in a wok over high heat.
Add cashews and cook for 2 minutes, tossing, until golden brown.
Add chillies and cook for a further 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add onions and capsicum, cook for 2 minutes, until softened, tossing.
Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, until browned.
Add the ginger, garlic and spring onions, tossing to combine, then return cashews and chillies to wok.
Stir in oyster sauce and soy sauce, bring to a boil.
Mix cornflour with 1½ tbsp water to make a slurry, mix into stir fry.
Cook for 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Serve stirfry immediately over some steamed rice

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Get the wok hot before anything goes in

Heat the empty wok over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until you see the first wisps of smoke rising from the surface. Then add the oil. If the wok isn’t hot enough, the cashews will steam and soften rather than toast golden, and the chicken will stew rather than sear. High, dry heat is what gives a stir-fry its distinctive flavour and texture. A domestic gas burner is ideal but if cooking on electric, give the wok extra time to reach temperature. I

Toast the cashews first

The cashews go in first and come back out once golden. Setting them aside while you cook everything else keeps them crunchy right through to serving. If they stay in the wok the whole time, they’ll overcook in the sauce and go soft. Return them at the very end, after the sauce has thickened, so they only pick up a light coating and keep their texture.

Storage

Cool completely before storing. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. The cashews will soften after refrigerating. If you want to keep them crunchy, store them separately and add just before serving. Not ideal for freezing as the cashews lose their texture.

FAQs

Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh? Yes. Breast cooks faster, so reduce the cook time to 2 to 3 minutes. Slice it 1cm thick across the grain. The texture is slightly leaner and less forgiving if overcooked, but it works well. Thigh fillets are more flavourful and stay moist even if they go a minute longer than needed, which is why they’re the better choice for a quick stir-fry.

I don’t have a wok. Can I use a frying pan? Yes. Use the largest, heaviest frying pan you have and get it very hot before you start. The results won’t be quite as good since a wok’s shape concentrates heat and allows better tossing, but a hot heavy pan will do the job. Cook in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding; too many ingredients at once drop the temperature and the food steams instead of searing.

What can I serve this with besides rice? It also works well with egg noodles cooked separately and tossed through at the end. For a lighter option, serve in large iceberg or cos lettuce cups. If you’re adding noodles, reduce the sauce slightly less so there’s enough to coat both the chicken and the noodles.