Spicy cashew chicken is a super quick dinner recipe with chicken, broccoli, peppers, cashews, all covered in spicy Asian sauce.
I love my big, black, sturdy… wok.
Yeah, it rhymes, but I promise I wasn’t going there. Now, get your mind out of the gutter and back to spicy cashew chicken.
Seriously, my wok has got to be one of the most valuable things in my kitchen. My cherry red Kitchenaid stand mixer is amazing. I will never dispute that, but the things it does, I could do myself (just not as quickly, effectively, or without complaining later about how sore my arms are). My food processor, just as awesome, but I would never tell a new cook they must have one. The meat grinder, deep fryer, sausage stuffer, 15 types of baking pans and three crock pots are all amazing tools – But the must have, the secret weapon, the key ingredient to graduating to the supreme level of iron chefdom – a good heavy cast iron wok. Or at least if you want to graduate to “quick delicious healthy fast weeknight dinner on the table chef“.
OK, I won’t lie. You should really have a crock pot, wooden spoon, and iron skillet too. I think those are pretty much staples.
Spicy Cashew Chicken
from All Day I Dream About Food
Ingredients:
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 tbs toasted sesame oil
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, sliced into thin strips
- 1/4 cup onion, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 medium red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium yellow pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 cups broccoli florets, cut to about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick pieces
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashews, lightly toasted*
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Preparation:
Stir fries are all about quick cooking. Make sure all of your ingredients are diced, minced, measured, and on standby for things to go smoothly.
Mix the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a small bowl.
Heat 1 tbs of the oil mix in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, until shimmering. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and let sit in a bowl. The chicken will continue to cook a bit while resting in the bowl. I’m not telling to you remove it from the wok raw (be smart about this) but know that you don’t have to over do it while the chicken is hanging out in the pan (over cooked dry chicken is hard to chew and not so awesome for the taste buds).
In same wok or skillet over medium-high heat ( you may have to adjust your heat a bit depending up on your wok/skillet/stove top so that you are not smoking up the house), add the remaining oil, and when hot, add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minutes. Add pepper slices and broccoli and continue to cook until vegetables are tender yet maintain some crunch, 3 to 5 minutes. Keep everyone moving around the wok by stirring constantly. Add cashews and cook 1 minute more. Throw chicken back into the party and stir.
While everyone is cooking in the wok, whisk together soy sauce, water, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes. When everything is cooked through, add to the wok and mix well. Sauce will thicken quickly.
Serve right away with some rice.
*To toast cashews, preheat oven to 350. Spread cashews on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake, stirring every so often for about 7-10 minutes. Make sure not to walk away from the oven during this process as nuts go from toasted to burnt in the blink of an eye.
The thoughts and opinions of this post may have been effected by a little afternoon alcohol indulgence. Just sayin.
Blog is the New Black says
How did you know I’ve been craving a good stir fry?! WANT!
[email protected] says
Stir frys are about the easiest and best way to serve up fresh veggies. The cashews do add a lot to the taste. I would love to have this for lunch-thanks for sharing.
amanda @ fake ginger says
I love that your cashew chicken is so colorful – most versions are just brown, you know? Yours looks so much tastier! I need to get myself a wok.
Curt says
I love cashew chicken. That looks very tasty!
Melissa (MelissaLikesToEat) says
We love stir frys over here! I love my wok too! Beautiful photos!
Cassie l Bake Your Day says
Cashew chicken is my absolute favorite! I love how the colors just pop off of the plate in this dish, yum!
Erin says
I have yet to get a wok for myself. Someone once told me that I can’t use one on an electric stove because it won’t heat properly (I miss having a gas stove so much!). Is that true?
Kita says
I have an electric stove and it works just fine. I give my wok a solid 5 minutes to get smoking hot before I cook anything though. Gas is better, but life goes on! I say go for it!
RavieNomNoms says
That looks amazing Kita! I love cashew chicken…one of my favorites that I always seem to order when I go out for Chinese. I wish I could have it more often at home, but the bf doesn’t like nuts AT ALL. So weird…lol
Dionne Baldwin says
You had me at spicy. LOL I love my “wok” too but alas it’s not cast iron. Cashew chicken and I go way back but I’ve never seen it dressed like this. 🙂 I’m on a broccoli kick lately too. You made chicken look beautiful!
Amy's Cooking Adventures says
Looks yummy! I love stir fries!
[email protected] says
I need a wok badly!! Maybe that will be my wedding present to myself! 🙂 Looks so TASTY!
Liz says
Kita, this stir fry looks amazing! Perfect for busy week nights…I need to work this one into my menu soon~
The Culinary Lens says
This looks good and so much healthier than the take out I buy
Dottie Sauchelli Balin says
Looks so yummy. I will have to try it. What better foods to enjoy. Thanks !!! 🙂
Ann says
This looks incredible – I like cashew chicken! Your photos are stunning….as always! Buzzed it!
Kimberly (Unrivaledkitch) says
Wok is a terribly valuable tool. And cast iron ooo even more so. I love cast iron alas my clumsy mind strays from it because I’ve dropped too many pots more than once to want one of those pans to go crashing on my non insured toes. But they do have their uses 🙂
photos are GORGEOUS so much color. I love it, Stir Fry is one of my favorite things to eat.
Medeja says
I love such food. Easy, quick and delicious!
Great photos!
SarahCupcake says
I love stirfry!! My mom was always cooking something up in a wok when I was a kid. I need to learn!!
Ann says
Wonderful! This is a great dish…I’ve been making a lot of asian inspired dishes this week (this one looks ah-may-zing!). I had a weighted bottom non-stick wok with a handle that I LOVED (not a traditional one – I know…) and it was wonderful! After 28 years, it finally bit the dust. I’m on the hunt for it’s replacement! I’d LOVE to see a pic of your wok on your next post!
Von says
haha…..I love my wok too!! I cook pretty much everything in the wok (because I’m so Asian? lol), though I’ll admit, I don’t do much cooking 🙂 Your stir fry looks delicious!!
hmm….wooden spoon isn’t one of my kitchen staples! I have one, but it pretty much just sits in the drawer 😀
Feast on the Cheap says
One of my favorite weeknight dinners – even if I order it half the time 😉