Better Than The Buffet Thai Cashew Chicken
Better Than The Buffet Cashew Chicken is a recipe that is so simple, easy and quick. This dinner is garlicky, gingery and has a delicious depth of flavor. The sweet and salty sauce and toasted nuttiness of the cashews will make this meal a family favorite.
This Thai cashew chicken recipe is so simple and easy to throw together. If you were looking for a good beginner’s recipe for Thai food, this would be it. There isn’t a huge list of ingredients. Most local grocery stores should have all of these ingredients available. Best of all, this dinner can be thrown together in about a half an hour’s time.
When expanding your cooking repertoire, it’s always a good idea to start small. Make recipes that don’t have a ton of different ingredients in them when you are starting out. My Traditional 6-Ingredient Vietnamese Chicken Satay is an excellent example. It’s quick and simple to toss together and the few ingredients that this recipe calls for do pack a huge punch.
This is a great dinner option for quick and hectic weeknights. However, this would also be a lovely meal to cook for a special dinner with company. I mean, in my book, cashew anything is special. Cashews are simply amazing. They are most certainly my favorite of the nuts.
This Thai cashew chicken is delicious served over a hot plate of freshly cooked and fragrant Jasmine rice. Jasmine rice has the most beautiful flavor profile. The depth of flavor lends a perfect touch to any rice dish that you could be serving. Jasmine rice was a way of life growing up with my Mom. You didn’t have anything without a side of Jasmine rice. My family carries on this tradition and we have rice about 80% of the time. Consequently, we buy our rice in 25 pound bags at our local Thai store.
Thai cashew chicken wasn’t one that I grew up eating. I love cashew chicken when on any Chinese restaurant menu. I wanted to recreate the dish at home with my own Thai spin on things.
The sauce for this dish is not a starchy, thick one. It’s a very delicious sauce with a looser texture. I love serving myself a heaping spoonful of the cashew chicken with the sauce right over the top of my rice.
What are my other options if I can’t find Thai chilis?
You can use serrano peppers or jalapeño peppers. You could also substitute the Thai chilis with some crushed red pepper flakes. This will also tone down the heat of the dish a little bit for you, if desired.
What else could I add to this Thai cashew chicken dish?
This sauce is so simple and scrumptious that you could throw just about any vegetable and/or meat in. The result will be spectacular. I recommend giving any of the following a try:
-Broccoli
-Bok choy
-Green beans
-Asparagus
-Beef
-Pork
-Ground turkey
This is definitely a perfect lunch or dinner option. This meal comes together so quickly and the flavor is unbelievable. Let me know how you prepared your Very Easy Thai Cashew Chicken in the comments below.
Very Easy Thai Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.75 Pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Cup cashews (unsalted)
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 Cloves garlic
- 2 Tablespoons ginger
- 2 Thai chilis
Sauce
- ¼ Cup soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat a large pan sprayed frying pan over medium heat. Slice the boneless skinless chicken breast in half length-wise. This will help speed up the cooking process. Add the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and black pepper and allow to cook 8 minutes on each side. Continue to flip until thoroughly cooked. Once cooked completely, slice the chicken. While the chicken is cooking, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce and stir until well blended.
- Heat a medium frying pan on medium heat. Add the unsalted cashews and stir continuously until toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Once toasted, give the cashews a rough chop and set aside.
- Using the pan that you cooked the chicken in, add vegetable oil, garlic, ginger and Thai chilis. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the sliced chicken breast, the chopped toasted cashews and the prepared sauce. Allow to cook for an additional 2 minutes and stir constantly. Serve over Jasmine rice and garnish with green onion (optional). Enjoy!
