Chicken Cashew Stir Fry with mangetout and baby corn served on a bed of perfectly cooked basmati rice, a quick and easy recipe with an Asian touch. The chicken and veggies are smothered in a delicious homemade Chinese brown sauce that makes the dish incredibly delicious and great as a midweek meal for the whole family.
Chinese must be one of the most popular take-aways you can indulge in when you don't feel like cooking or you simply want something different for dinner. But what if we can make our own version of the most popular take-away dishes?
This chicken and cashew stir fry is incredibly easy to make at home with a handful of ingredients. There are certain ingredients that make the very base of any Asian-inspired recipes, so I always tend to have them around: spring onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauces, sesame oil and rice vinegar.
Once you have these, you can pretty much create any recipe in no time. And I can guarantee you that they will tastes even better than any not-so-nice take aways that tend to make you feel way too full after.
The cashew nuts add so much goodness and texture to the dish, plus a good helping of extra protein that make the dish feeling and comforting.
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Ingredients used
- chicken breasts - cut into chunks
- cashew nuts - I used unsalted cashew, I find that the ready-salted ones don't work as well as the sauce is already salted as it is
- mangetout and baby corn - you can easily find them in the veggie section of any larger supermarket
- Chinese brown sauce - made with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce and rice vinegar
- oil - I used vegetable oil, but any other odourless oil would do
- cornflour - or corn starch for thickening the sauce
- water - it balances out the strength of the Chinese sauce
- fresh parsley - for garnishing
- salt and pepper - for seasoning the chicken
- spring onions, ginger and garlic - they form the base of the stir fry, not to be omitted
Variations
You can swap the chicken breasts for chicken thighs as long as they are cut into chunks and are boneless - the thighs have a different texture, but the cooking time doesn't change much.
The mangetout and baby corn can be replaced with any peppers of your choice, bamboo shoots or any other veggies that go well in a stir fry.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- heat up the oil in a large pan or wok, add the chicken cut into chunks, and season with salt and pepper - work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan
- fry on both sides until golden, then remove from the pan
- in the same pan, add more oil if necessary, then add the peeled and chopped garlic, ginger and spring onions
- stir fry for 30 seconds, then add the mangetout and baby corn and stir fry for a further one minute
- add the chicken back to the pan together with the sauce and cashew nuts
- combine the water with the cornflour and add them to the pan too
- give it a good stir, place a lid on, and leave to cook for 1-2 minutes
- garnish with fresh parsley and remove from the heat
Expert tips
My number 1 rule when I cook Chinese is to have absolutely everything prepared ready to go in the pan - stir fry is a quick process, and you won't have time otherwise to chop anything in between, without risking burning the food.
The prep itself doesn't take longer than 10 minutes max, so it's worth getting them ready so that you can then just focus on the cooking.
Always work at a higher heat when you stir fry so keep the ingredients as fresh as you can - it's nice to have a good crunch from the veggies, rather than a mushy mess.
What to serve the stir fry with
My first choice when it comes to a good old stir fry, be it meat-bases, vegan or vegetarian is basmati rice. In my post: How to Cook Basmati Rice to Perfection I give you tips on how to get the perfect rice on the stove top every single time.
Other great choices are noodles of any kind, or even couscous, bulgur wheat or why not, mashed potatoes - after all, it's homemade food, everything is allowed.
Other chicken stir fry recipes
- Healthy Chinese Chicken Egg Fried Rice Recipe15 Minutes
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry15 Minutes
- Chinese Chicken and Broccoli25 Minutes
- Orange Chicken Recipe15 Minutes
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Chicken Cashew Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 1 cup cashew nuts, unsalted
- 1 cup mangetout
- 1 cup baby corn
- 1 tablespoon cornflour ( corn starch)
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 spring onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cm fresh ginger ( 1 inch)
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat up half of the oil in a pan or wok set over a medium high heat.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry it in batches on both sides until cooked through - that shouldn't take more than 5 minutes per batch.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining oil, and add the peeled and chopped garlic, ginger and spring onions, and stir fry them for 30 seconds.
- Add the mangetout and baby corn, and stir fry them for a further 1 minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan, add the cashew nuts, pour over the soy sauces, sesame oil and rice vinegar.
- Combine the water with the cornflour to get a smooth consistency, and pour it over the rest of the ingredients, giving it a good stir.
- Place a lid on the pan for 1-2 minutes, then give it another stir, and garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve hot!
Video
Notes
- My number 1 rule when I cook Chinese is to have absolutely everything prepared ready to go in the pan - stir fry is a quick process, and you won't have time otherwise to chop anything in between, without risking burning the food.
- The prep itself doesn't take longer than 10 minutes max, so it's worth getting them ready so that you can then just focus on the cooking.
- Always work at a higher heat when you stir fry so keep the ingredients as fresh as you can - it's nice to have a good crunch from the veggies, rather than a mushy mess.
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