Amazing Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe – Authentic and Easy to Make!

In this post, you will learn how to make an authentic Thai cashew chicken recipe that tastes amazing and surprisingly quick and easy to make.

It’s a famous dish in Thailand and now you can make it at home!

This Thai Cashew Chicken recipe is from my friend Hanuman and is featured in his 49 classic Thai stir-fry recipes ebook.

Quick note on cashew chicken

Before we dive into this recipe, I just need to quickly share something with you.

I’m a big fan of Thai cashew chicken, but in Thailand I very rarely order it.

Why?

Because it’s one of those dishes that’s very hit and miss. Often, if you order it at any street food stall in Thailand, it comes in the form of a few pieces of chicken and cashews, in a lumpy sweet and sour sauce.

But the version I love, which you’ll occasionally find in Thailand at stir-fried Thai Chinese restaurants, which is crunchy, salty, and full of caramelized onions and crunchy cashews, is the version I really love.

This recipe will show you the ultimate authentic version, with no shortcuts, but still very easy and quick to prepare, with ingredients you can probably find in your local supermarket.

Ingredients you will need

One of the best things about this Thai Cashew Chicken recipe is that the ingredients are pretty simple and you should be able to find pretty much everything you need at your local supermarket.

• 200 grams of chicken breast, cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp. cassava flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup natural flavored cooking oil (I used sunflower oil to fry everything)

• 1 tbsp. crushed and chopped garlic (I used about 4 cloves)
• 1/2 cup yellow onions, cut into wedges (I used 1 small onion)
• 1/3 cup Thai bird’s eye dried red chili peppersfried
• 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 1/3 cup fresh long red chili peppers, thinly julienned (I used red chili peppers)
• 1/3 cup fresh banana chilies, cut into thin strips
• 1/3 cup green onions (scallions), cut into 1-inch pieces

Seasoning sauce:

• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp. dark soy sauce (I used sweet dark soy sauce, you can use sweet soy sauce)
• 1/2 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp. Earth white pepper
• pinch of salt
• pinch of sugar
• 3 tbsp. broth or water

Again, this recipe comes directly from 49 Classic Thai Stir-Fry Dishes which is a fantastic cookbook.

Once you have all the ingredients prepared, all you need to do is quickly fry the chicken, cashews and dried chilies, set them all aside separately and then fry the entire mixture together. But following the right steps will ensure you get the best tasting Thai Cashew Chicken.

If you want to go straight to the directions, you can scroll down to the recipe box below. Otherwise, read on for more photos and personal details.

The first step in this Thai Cashew Chicken recipe is to mix the sauce ingredients. Put everything in a bowl, mix and leave aside for later.

For the sauce, it’s up to you to decide how much sugar you want to add, I added just a pinch and it was perfect for me.

Cut the chicken into small pieces and mix it with a spoonful of flour. Make sure all the chicken is evenly coated and has no crusting anywhere.

To use the same oil to fry the cashews, dried chilies, and chicken, but all separately, I first fried the raw cashews.

Add about 1/3 cup of oil (I used sunflower oil) to a wok or skillet over medium heat and fry the cashews until golden brown.

It will take less than you think, it only took me about 1 minute. And you have to be careful, they are a bit like French fries, if you see that they are turning golden you have to remove them from the oil immediately, otherwise they will burn quickly. Drain the cashews and set them aside.

Dried Thai chilies are also very quick to fry (more like shallow frying).

You want to toss them in the hot oil and fry them for just about a minute, stirring constantly. You will see that they will become crispy, make sure you watch them carefully and remove them from the oil before they burn.

Next, fry the chicken cubes.

I fried the chicken for about 5 minutes, until it was nice and golden brown on the outside. Then drain the chicken and set it aside.

At this stage of preparing this Thai Cashew Chicken recipe, you should have all the vegetables cut and ready, the chicken, cashews, dried fried chilies and the sauce mixture.

Now you’re ready to fry everything together.

First add about 1/2 tbsp. of oil in the wok or pan and wait for it to heat up.

Then add the garlic, sauté for about 10 seconds and then add the onions. Fry for a few seconds until the onions have become translucent.

Then add fresh green and red chillies. At this point, you can add a few splashes of water if the wok is getting dry, but don’t add too much water.

Take the seasoning sauce mixture and add it to the wok. Continue frying and you will see that the sauce will quickly begin to thicken and become sticky from the oyster sauce and sweet, dark soy sauce.

Once the sauce is thick and sticky, add the chicken, cashews and dried chillies and fry gently, making sure all the sauce coats all the ingredients evenly.

You don’t need to fry for a long time, just a couple of minutes maximum. If it dries too much you can add a little water.

The final step is to add the green onions and give the cashew chicken a few quick stirs, then turn off the heat.

The spring onions will cook a little longer from the heat of the other ingredients and you want them to remain crisp and fragrant.

Those are all the steps, now you’re ready to eat an amazing version of Thai Cashew Chicken, and it’s so quick and easy to make!

Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe

Time: About 30 minutes to cook this recipe
Recipe size: I ate the whole dish, but I could serve 1 – 2
Kitchen utensils: wok or pan, chopping knife

The aroma of those dried fried chilies, caramelized onions and those crunchy cashews will make your mouth water at this stage.

The chicken will be crispy, but covered in that salty-and-sweet glazed sauce, the cashews will be crunchy and creamy, and the mix of veggies and dried chilies will give it so much flavor.

Just like when cooking many other Thai recipes, make sure you have steamed rice ready to eat so it’s hot and fresh.

Conclusion

This is an easy to make Thai Cashew Chicken recipe, but the flavors will impress you and whoever is eating with you.

Make sure you follow the steps exactly, to ensure everything is crispy and crunchy, but all mixed together perfectly.

If you love Thai cashew chicken, this is a recipe you should try today!

Once again, thanks to my friend Hanuman for sharing this recipe with me. Check out his Ebook with 49 recipes of classic Thai stir-fried dishes for more authentic Thai stir-fry dishes that you can easily prepare at home.