Faster Than Take-Out: Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry
Just four quintessential Asian Pantry condiments and you’re well on your way to many stir-fries!
It took some kitchen experience and experimentation, a lot of reading Kenji Lopez and hundreds of stir-fries to simplify the flavours into these four ingredients.
The Four Essential Stir-Fry Condiments
Keep these on hand, and you’ll never be more than 15 minutes from a great stir-fry:
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Soy Sauce : Use a Chinese Light Soy Sauce for depth without heaviness. This is not a ‘low sodium’ soy sauce. It is also known as ‘thin’ soy sauce. For context, in Chinese cooking there is ‘light’ soy sauce and ‘dark’ soy sauce.
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Oyster Sauce: Adds richness, a touch of sweetness and the umami we all love!
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Shaoxing Wine: A splash of this Chinese cooking wine brings restaurant-level complexity, aroma and flavour.
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Sesame Oil: The finishing note of toasty nuttiness that ties it all together. We don’t cook with the sesame oil, it is used as a condiment/sauce.
Notes on Ingredients:
- Notice only 1 lb of chicken for four servings! We love how a stir-fry can stretch that budget!
- And speaking of budget: cabbage! We used a ‘flat-head’ cabbage which is softer and milder than your traditional round, solid heads of cabbage. Available at farmers markets when in season, but also year-round at Asian supermarkets, as this is the traditional cabbage used for Kimchi. Truth: because of this delicious sauce, kids gobbled it up.
- Baking Soda: this technique of adding just a small amount of baking soda to the meat is known as ‘velveting’. The meat becomes meltingly tender. Don’t overdo it. 1/4 tsp max.
- Cornstarch: this is what will thicken the sauce. Always combine it with cold water (the ratios don’t matter too much) and add it at the end.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tbsp. Chinese Light Soy Sauce (first amount)
- A good pinch of kosher salt
For the Vegetables:
- 4-5 cups of chopped green cabbage (less if it is really hearty--see note above)
- 1/2 lb. mushrooms, button or cremini, halved or quartered
- 1 celery rib, thinly sliced on an angle
- 1 medium carrot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced on an angle
- 4-5 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- Neutral Oil & Kosher Salt, as needed
- Optional: chopped fresh basil or Thai basil for garnish
For the Sauce:
- 2 tbsp. Chinese Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tbps. Oyster Sauce
- 2 tbsp. Shaoxing Cooking Wine
- 2 tsp. Sesame oil
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or water, optional
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 2 tbsp. water
Instructions
- Preheat a large wok over medium-high heat.
- Blend baking soda with 1 tbsp. water.
- Place chicken breast in a bowl and mix well with baking soda mixture and first amount of soy sauce. Set aside while you cut the vegetables.
- Whisk together the first four sauce ingredients (soy, oyster, shaoxing & sesame oil and additional liquid, if using). Whisk together cornstarch & water together in a small bowl. You may need to re-whisk both of these before adding to stir-fry.
- Get ready to cook! Increase wok heat to high. Add a small drizzle of oil followed by the cabbage and season with salt. Stir-fry until it begins to crisp and darken in spots, 3-4 minutes. Remove.
- Add another small drizzle of oil and add in mushrooms, carrots & celery. Season with salt & stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add in green onions for the final 30 seconds of cooking. Remove along with the cabbage.
- Add a small amount of oil followed by the chicken. Spread the chicken out as much as you can and leave to settle and brown on one side before flipping over and stir-frying.
- Stir-fry the cashews into the chicken for the final 30 seconds.
- Return all of the vegetables to the wok.
- Pour the stir-fry sauce over everything.
- Bring to a boil then re-whisk and pour cornstarch mixture over the stir-fry. Cook one minute, then serve immediately over rice. Garnish with basil, if using.
Notes
Substitutions and Stir-Fry Variations:
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Protein: Use shrimp, beef, tofu, or tempeh instead of chicken.
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Vegetables: Broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, or bok choy are all perfect swaps. Just don’t empty the fridge out. Keep it to 3 main vegetables max.
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No Shaoxing wine? Use dry sherry or mirin as a substitute.
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Nut-free version: Skip the cashews or try sunflower seeds for crunch. We also love peanuts in a stir-fry.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
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Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat quickly in a hot pan to bring back the texture.
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Freezer: Stir-fry doesn’t freeze perfectly (the veggies soften), but you can freeze the cooked chicken separately for future batches.
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Make-ahead: If you’re a Sunday Afternoon meal prepper, this is gold: Mix your sauce in advance and store it in a jar for up to 1 week. Chop all your veggies up to 2 days before, and slice and marinate chicken too to make dinner a 10-minute affair.
Stir-Fry FAQs:
What’s the secret to a good stir-fry?
High heat, dry ingredients, and quick movement. Make sure your vegetables are well-drained and your pan is hot before adding anything. Over the past couple of years Chef Kirstie has grown to love her wok. Sure, it’s a bit smokey, but that ‘wok hei’ is giving the stir-fry a flavour you can’t actually bottle up!
Should I cook the meat or vegetables first?
In this case we’re starting with the cabbage on a hot, clean wok. This gives an advantage to the cabbage for really flavourful, crisp cabbage. On the other hand, if you start with the meat, once it’s seared and set aside, you’ll use those flavourful bits in the pan to build your sauce. It can be recipe dependent!
Can I make this gluten-free?
Yes! Simply swap the soy sauce for tamari or a gluten-free alternative, and check that your oyster sauce is certified gluten-free as it usually is not. You can also get vegetarian Oyster sauce!
What oil is best for stir-frying?
Use a neutral, high-heat oil like canola, grapeseed, or avocado oil. Save olive oil for drizzling later.