Oyster Sauce with Cashew Stir Fry

Dinner | Chinese

Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 10 min Servings: 4

This is a great budget friendly stir fry sauce where you can swap out the protein to your liking.

First we're going to velvet the chicken in cornflour before cooking in the wok. This tenderises the meat making it nice and juicy rather than tough and dry. We do this beaucse we're cooking it over a high heat. The chicken is seared in batches and set aside, then the aromatics and vegetables build the base in the same wok before everything comes back together with the sauce.

The sauce is only two ingredients: oyster sauce and light soy sauce. Oyster sauce is thick, sweet-savoury, and fermented, and it coats the chicken and vegetables in a glossy finish that soy sauce alone doesn’t achieve. The toasted cashews go in at the end so they stay crunchy and don’t overcook in the hot sauce. The spring onion white parts go in early with the aromatics; the green parts finish the dish raw for a fresh, sharp contrast.

Ingredient Notes

Chicken breast: Breast is my favourite choice for this kind of stir-fry: it slices cleanly, browns quickly, and works well with the cornflour velveting technique. Thigh is a good substitute if you prefer more moisture and a richer flavour, though it takes slightly longer to cook through and doesn’t slice as cleanly when raw. Whichever you use, slice as thinly as possible across the grain: 3-4mm strips cook fast and stay tender.

Cashews: Toasted cashews give this dish its character: nutty, slightly sweet, and crunchy against the soft chicken and vegetables. Use pre-toasted cashews, or toast them yourself in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden: about 3-4 minutes. Watch them closely as they burn quickly. Raw cashews don’t have the same depth of flavour. Peanuts are an easy substitute and are used in some versions of this dish.

Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is a thick, dark, sweet-savoury condiment made from oyster extracts, sugar, and salt. It’s the binding element in this sauce: thick enough to coat and glaze everything in the wok, with a depth of flavour that soy sauce alone doesn’t provide. For a vegetarian version, mushroom oyster sauce is a direct substitute and widely available in Asian grocers.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Wok or large frying pan
Wok spatula or tongs
Large bowl (for marinating)
Grater or microplane
Small saucepan (for blanching broccolini)

Ingredients

500g chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
2 tsp (marinade) + 1 tbsp (sauce) light soy sauce
2 tbsp neutral oil (peanut/ canola/ vegetable)
thumb-size piece fresh ginger, finely grated
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
4 spring onions, thinly sliced, green and white parts separated
1 bunch broccolini, blanched
1 tbsp oyster sauce
75g (½ cup) toasted cashews (or peanuts)
pinch MSG (optional)
steamed rice, to serve

Directions

Marinate chicken
Place the chicken in a large bowl, add the cornflour and toss well to coat.
Stir through the Shaoxing and 2 tsp light soy sauce, then marinate for 10 minutes to 1 hour.
Blanch the broccolini in salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water.
Cook chicken
Heat half the oil in a wok over high heat.
Sear the chicken in batches, until just browned, then set aside.
Create Your Stir Fry
Heat the remaining oil in the wok. Cook the white part of onions, ginger and garlic for 30 seconds, stirring.
Add the and blanched broccolini and cook until they start to soften, tossing.
Return the chicken to the wok and stir in the oyster sauce and light soy sauce, cashews, green part of the onions and MSG (if using). Toss well then remove from the heat.
Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Ingredients

Directions

Recipe notes