This 20 minute Cashew Chicken recipe is great for weeknights but holy crap. WHY must easy meals always be for weeknights. Make it this weekend so you have more time for important weekend things. Like napping.
Every once in a while I'll rediscover a recipe that I used to make all the time. For whatever reason I'll forget about it - oftentimes for years - until I remember it and think Why don't I ever make that anymore? And then I make it. Such was the case with this Cashew Chicken recipe. I hadn't made it in years then a few weeks ago I decided to make it. I had to come back to this recipe on my own blog to remember the ingredients. As I read through my own blog post of my own recipe I found myself doubting myself.
Thinking - 20 minutes??? There's no way this can be done in 20 minutes. You're a dirty liar Karen. So I got my ingredients out, set up a timer, flipped on my video camera and got to work. The results of that little experiment a bit later on.
I learned to cook chicken from my mother. Ergo ... I cook my chicken until the pink is gone and it's nice and moist and tender. And then I cook for about an hour more.
My name is Karen, and I'm a chicken overcooker. Always. You hand me a chicken breast, and I'll hand you back chicken jerky. And then I'll ask you to give it back to me so I can cook it some more.
But it'll be cooked and no one will die and we'll all continue to live the exciting lives we lead, unless you happen to choke on my chicken. Which is entirely possible, since it isn't chewable you pretty much have to swallow the whole breast in one go, like a trained seal eats a fish you throw at it.
Because I am chicken challenged, I've taken to usually cooking chicken either in thin slices, or small cubes. For some reason I don't feel the need to overcook my chicken when I do this. Although it's not a guarantee.
I really do have military precision when it comes to overcooking my chicken. I know the *exact* point I need to go over to make it inedible. It's a gift.
This cashew chicken recipe includes the much heralded chicken cubes. Enjoy.
20 Minute Skillet Cashew Chicken
You're gonna get some green onions and cut them where the white meets the green.
Then chop those up.
Open that can of mandarin oranges and toast those cashews. Grab your chicken dice it up, plunk it into a plastic bag with corn starch and shake it.
Finally you're going to heat the oil, throw the chicken, white part of the green onions and garlic and cook until the chicken is done to your liking. Not MY liking. Yours.
The cubes take about 3 minute to cook through but I like to cook them for 7-8 hours. Take your pick.
If you double the recipe you'll have to cook the chicken in batches because if you add too much chicken to the pan it'll steam. Bad. NO steaming. You want the chicken to pan fry and get crispy.
Once everything is cooked you're gonna add a massive splash of rice vinegar, some Hoisin sauce and water. Cook it up, remove it from the heat, throw on the green onions, toasted cashes and drained mandarin oranges.
Your dinner is done.
10. Serve on a bed of rice.
This is soooooo good you could fool anyone into thinking it took all day. If you *did* want it to take all day you could marinate your chicken in an asian inspired marinade prior to cooking it. Just a thought.
Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 Tbsp. corn starch apx.
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 8 green onions
- ¼ cup Hoisin Sauce
- ¼ cup Rice Vinegar unseasoned
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup cashews toasted over medium/low heat in pan
- 1 can mandarin oranges 284 ml.
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Toast cashews in pan over medium/low heat.
- Clean and separate green onions into white and green parts.
- Chop both white and green parts into 1" sections. If the white part of the green onions is very large around, also slice in half lengthwise.
- Dice your chicken breasts into even, bite sized pieces.
- Add cornstarch and salt & pepper to plastic bag.
- Plunk your chicken into the bag.
- Blow a little air into the bag, twist it closed and shake the chicken in the cornstarch.
- Fry your coated chicken, the WHITE part of the green onions and garlic over medium/high heat in 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. You may have to do 2 batches to avoid overcrowding (and therefore steaming) the chicken. Add another Tbsp. of oil if a second batch is needed and remove the first batch to a plate.
- Once the chicken, onions and garlic are cooked, return it all to the pan. Add ¼ cup of rice vinegar and cook until evaporated. Add ¼ cup Hoisin Sauce and ¼ cup of water. Cook and stir until fully combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in the green bits of the green onion, toasted cashews and oranges.
- Serve on a bed of rice.
Nutrition
If you're making this, you can make as much sauce as you want. Just use equal portions of vinegar, Hoisin Sauce and water. If you want it a bit sweeter, add more Hoisin Sauce. If you want it a bit spicier, throw in a few red pepper flakes.
Go nuts! Make it your own! You're cookin'! YOU are providing food and therefore life to you and all of those around you! They would shrivel up in the corner sucking on carpet fibres for sustenance if it weren't for you.
YOU ARE STUCK IN THE KITCHEN COOKING, BUT YOU ARE IMPORTANT DAMMIT!
Wondering if I'm a dirty liar or a truth teller? Watch my Cashew Chicken Instagram story highlight where I made this recipe live.
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As you were.
Carol Murgatroyd
Hi Karen,
After reading your blog for some time now, I feel sure that, once you read this article, you will be permanently cured from overcooking your bokbok!
So much wonderful information!!
https://blog.thermoworks.com/2012/02/bloody_chicken/
Thanks for all you do!
Teri
Thank you for re-posting this for newer readers. It looks and sounds terrific. And if you live with someone who thinks they are allergic to nuts (like me 'frinstance) I’m pretty sure it could be modified. I’m going to try anyway.
Also, must ask - is that a nifty compostable bag from Lee Valley being used to coat the chicken pieces? Just made them my go-to bags for things like that.
Jeanie Burch
Made this last night. Dee-lish! I thought it took a little longer that 20 min but maybe I'm just slow. I drained the can of mandarin oranges. The sauce was wonderful and the recipe made more that enough for me and hubby so I had leftovers for lunch.
Karen
Hi Jeanie! It can definitely take 20 minutes. :) But yes, that's working quickly. As if you had to get the kids to soccer or yourself to a wine club. Glad you liked it! ~ karen!
Shelly
Chicken overcooker here! I have this recipe that says to brown chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, for 2 to 3 minutes. What? No way! They are still pink! You should see my pork sausage too. Practically charred. I blame that on my high-school Biology class and learning about tape worms. Eww! Still makes me cringe. I will be printing this recipe as I have a pound of breasts in my refrigerator right now.
Maria
Also jumping back here to say thanks for re-linking to the recipe. Made it this evening and it was lovely. Got a thumbs-up from 'suspicious of new foods' SO as well so this one goes into the list of recipes on rotation. :)
Lauren
Whoops! I neglected to adorn my whine with a compliment to the chef. These recipes are all right up my alley and saved in my recipe file. You are a Continental treasure my dear!
Karen
hahah! Thanks! :) ~ karen
Lauren
I read somewhere that the chicken growers are trying to breed chickens with ALL white meat. What about people who love the moist, succulent, tastier dark meat? Don't they count?
I recently bought a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken wings from Costco for teriyaki wings, and it looks like they've accomplished the all white meat thing. Brings a scrumptious easy dish down about 4 notches. Yuck. It's stuff like this that drives people to go in search of old fashioned pasture raised chickens with big fat dark thighs. I think they get those from eating bugs.
Elaine
I am definitely going to try this, Karen!! I was so impressed by two things in this post! #1 - I had a big smile when I saw that you used an ordinary grocery bag for the "breading" part of the recipe! That showed me you are just "normal" .... I thought to myself "if Karen can use a grocery bag and not waste a good Zip Lock bag, then so can I".
#2. Your revealing that you overcook chicken. that really shocked me but now, I like you even more!!
Do you want a laugh? I am known to overcook chicken. It just freaks me out; I even hate cutting it up as I dislike handling it. My son (as a teen) never complained about my dry, tough chicken but my daughter did in a very secretive way! She didn't really come right out and say I ruin chicken but had a unique way of expressing herself.
At the table, she would pretend she was eating it and (somehow, unknown to me) smuggle her uneaten chicken up to her bedroom and hide it in her pajama drawer! She usually (again, as a teen) put her clean pj's, etc. away but one day, I had lots of free time and put her clean pj's in her drawer. Imagine my surprise coming upon chunks of petrified chicken in her dresser drawers! We still laugh at that and I still continue to overook chicken!
Karen
SHE PUT CHICKEN IN HER PAJAMA DRAWER, LOLOL??!! That's hilarious! I am proud to say that since I originally wrote this post a few years ago I've paid a LOT of attention to cooking chicken and I have finally learned how to cook it without overcooking it. I guess I've gotten better at reading when it's actually done as opposed to being done to the point you could use it as a weapon. I still bread in grocery bags though. :) ~ karen!
janni
Thank you so much for this blog! I too, am a chicken over~cooker. Sounds like I should belong to some 12~step group. My mom was such a great cook but never put the details I often need into her written recipes. I love how detailed this recipe is, thank you! The details give me the confidence to try it, that's a big deal to me. Much gratitude :)
Karen
Oh, it's an easy one Janni. You can do it. Plus it's really quick. Good luck! ~ karen
judy
I have often thought of you as perfect-especially your hair- but then I get a flash back of your revelation of your toe-sies and I subtract a quarter point -Don't be offended-I don't think they are unattractive-just that they add to my conviction that people of your ilk who get "stuff" done are not of this Earth and I was doubting my suspicion that you are an Alien from a superior race-but sorry KAREN those toes give you away. Also Aliens always overcook everything!
Karen
Yeah. I know. Weird feet, clearly alien. I'm surprised you're the only one to really put those two things together. ;) ~ karen!
Chana
Oh yeah,baby! I'm making this!
karina
I will be trying this dish tomorrow night! Thanks for sharing!!
Karen
Oh! It's a good one. One of my niece's favourites because it's so fast! ~ karen
Jeff
Great recipe made it tonight, easy and very tasty, this one is a keeper.
Karen
Thanks Jeff! And it's pretty quick too. ~ karen!
Rinkypants
I've been secretly following (aka stalking) your amazing blog for a few weeks now.
Made the Cashew chicken tonite. Amazeballs.
Went out for a friend's birthday... came home... it is now 2:30 am in Chicago and Hey!! Who's got some Cashew chicken yumminess in their fridge? Yup, that's right... ME!!
Maybe I should go make sure it's tucked in for the night...
And by tucked in... I mean in my tummy. Cause it marinates in its own heavenly sauce over time and becomes EVEN MORE DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks for this ridiculously amazing recipe Karen!!
Karen
You're welcome Rinkypants! ~ karen
MrsSmith
Maybe we're related! That same chicken cooking technique was also passed down to me after several generations of perfecting. In fact, my family has not only perfected this technique on chicken, but pretty much all meat!
MrsSmith
I'll be buying the ingredients for this today so I can try it later this week. I've been meaning to try a cashew chicken recipe.
Karen
It's an easy one! And pretty much fool proof. Just make sure you cook your chicken enough. ;) ~ karen
Kristin Conrad
I'm a recovering chicken overcooker, too. :) Looks like a great recipe. Thanks!
Elizabeth
Made this last night - it was DIVINE! Thanks!
Karen
Thanks for letting me know Elizabeth! I'm glad you liked it. ~ karen!
Libby
This is the best Cashew Chicken ever...My husband brought the leftovers in to the office, and had to fight off his coworkers, who were all scrambling for a taste.
Karen
Hah! Thanks Libby. Yeah, for such a simple recipe it's pretty good isn't it! ~ karen
Nancy
GULP...I too am a chronic chicken-over-cooker. Glad to know I am not alone. :) Will be trying this recipe STAT! And I love your wit. Very well written and funny blog. Keep it up! :)
Karen
Thanks Nancy. I'll keep it up if you keep reading. ~ karen!
Eileen
Gotta try this. Have chicken thawing as we speak!!