Tender and juicy chicken pieces coated in a sweet and sticky spicy cashew chicken sauce. Fiery garlic, ginger and dried chilies sautéed and lightly toasted in sesame oil, cooked and coated with chicken and sauce then tossed with a handful of cashews. This dish comes together with few ingredients in very little times making for an excellent weeknight dinner to spice things up! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free

Spicy Cashew Chicken

✔️Sweet
✔️Sticky
✔️Spicy
✔️Simple

This spicy cashew chicken is all of that and then some! Needing only a 10 minute marinade with a speedy overall cook time, you’ll be sat back and chowing down on this dish in no time at all!

Consider this recipe a lightened up version of the takeout favourite, General Tso’s Chicken. In fact this recipe takes a lot of inspiration from Jamie Olivers General Tso which he claims is actually the original recipe made by the original General Tso, Peng Chang-kuei.

After trying Jamie Oliver’s version, I found his flavours to be on point, but the chicken never quite crisped up the way you want it to in a takeout dish. That was even with Oliver’s method of cooking which requiring bouncing the chicken between two hot pans as it cooked to maintain a spitting hot temperature the entire time.

After a few tweaks and additions we ended up with this Spicy Cashew Chicken – all of the flavour of the original dish with only a fraction of the work required to make this. This version uses less equipment, less time and less oil making it an easier and healthier version that you can feel good about eating!

Serving Suggestions

More Stir Fried Chicken Recipes You Might Also Enjoy

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Spicy Cashew Chicken

Name: Spicy Cashew Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons tamari or gluten free soy sauce (30 ml); 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (30 ml); 1/4 cup chicken stock (60 ml); 1 tablespoon sugar (brown, white, coconut or caster); 1 teaspoon potato starch; 1 tablespoon water (15 ml); 4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces; 1 tablespoon sesame oil; 3 spring onions, white stalks cut into 1/4 inch pieces, top green parts sliced thin; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced; 8 small, dried chilies; 1/3 cup cashews

Yield: 2-3 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Additional Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

Rate

Ingredients

Marinade

2 tablespoons tamari or gluten free soy sauce (30 ml)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (30 ml)
1/4 cup chicken stock (60 ml)
1 tablespoon sugar (brown, white, coconut or caster)
1 teaspoon potato starch
1 tablespoon water (15 ml)

Chicken & Veg

4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 spring onions, white stalks cut into 1/4 inch pieces, top green parts sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
8 small, dried chilies
1/3 cup cashews

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

The Marinade:

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the soy sauce/tamari, vinegar, sugar and chicken stock together until combined.
Once mixed together, spoon half of the mixture into a small bowl and set aside. In the larger bowl, add the starch and water and whisk until combined.
Add the chicken to the bowl with the starchy-marinade, toss to coat and let marinate 10 minutes.

Chicken & Veg

In a large wok or skillet, add the sesame oil and warm over a medium-low heat. Add the white parts of the green onions, garlic, ginger and dried chilis. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Turn the heat up to high and add the chicken to the skillet along with the starchy marinade. Cook 5-7 minutes stirring often until the chicken is just about cooked through.
Add the remaining marinade and cashews to the skillet and toss everything together cook another minute.
Scatter the sliced green onions over the chicken, serve over rice and enjoy.

Notes

Make it paleo:

Use coconut aminos in place of the tamari/soy sauce and add 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste).
Use apple cider vinegar in place of rice vinegar.
Use maple or honey in place of the sugar.
Use 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch or tapioca in place of the potato starch.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

Course: Mains Cuisine: Chinese