A few weeks back we went to a local Chinese restaurant to pick up some food as I was hungry for stir-fry and didn’t feel like cooking. We picked out cashew chicken, general’s chicken, and curry chicken stir fries.

The take out was nice since I didn’t have to do dishes, but I kept craving more Chinese-style food and so tried making it myself at home. I like making stir fries at home as it costs less and you can make healthier and fresher.

Today I will be sharing my take on restaurant-style cashew chicken. Cashew chicken is a Chinese-American dish that includes chicken, cashews, and a light brown garlic sauce, or thick sauce made with soy sauce and oyster sauce. I am making mine with a combination of both sauces. The chicken can be deep fried or stir fried. I like to marinate the chicken first with a few ingredients and stir fry in a little amount of oil to keep it healthy. You can deep fry the chicken if you like.

I like to load up my stir fries with a lot of veggies. Depending on what restaurant you go to, the vegetable selection can vary a lot. Our local restaurant used carrots, onion, zucchini, and celery. You can decide which veggies you like and make it your own.

It may not surprise you that this home version tastes better than the take out. I hope you give this a try and like it as much as we did!

Ingredients

Chicken marinade

• 3 cups chicken breast, cut into 1½ inch long pieces
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. sherry cooking wine
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes

Sauce

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup water

Stir fry

• 5 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 cup celery, cut into 1/2-ich wide cubes
• 1 cup carrots, peeled, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch wide cubes
• 1 cup zucchini, cut into same size as the celery
• 1 1/4 cup yellow onion, cut into same size as celery
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup whole salted cashews

Instructions

Place all chicken marinade ingredients in a large dish. Use a clean hand to mix everything very well. Then set aside for 30 minutes to marinade.

While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce. In a small bowl combine the sauce ingredients. Mix thoroughly, then set aside until needed.

In a large wok heat 2 tbsp. of canola oil over medium heat. Add the cashews, stir-fry for 30-50 seconds. Remove the cashews to a small bowl when you see some color.

Next add the carrots, stir-fry for 3 minutes, then add celery, cook for another minute.

Add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes. Make sure to stir in-between, then add the onions.

Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and transfer the veggies to a shallow bowl.

Turn the heat up medium low and add 3 tbsp. of oil. Add the marinaded chicken, and spread the chicken out as much as you can. Let the chicken cook for 2 minutes without stirring.

After 2 minutes stir the chicken and cook for anther 2 minutes without stirring. After 2 minutes or cooking time stir the chicken well and add 1 tbsp. of minced garlic. Stir well and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooking trough. Stirring few times in between and gently breaking up the chicken pieces if the pieces are stuck together.

Next add the cooked veggies to the chicken, along with any oil or juices left in the bowl. Add the prepared sauce and stir well. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.

Add the fried cashews and stir.

Taste for seasoning and turn the heat off. Transfer the stir-fry to a large serving dish and serve with cooked white or brown rice.

Serves 6-8

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!