Cashew Chicken (Thai)
Chicken stir-fried with cashews, dried chilli, and oyster sauce.
Ingredients
- 350 g Chicken thighs
- 80 g Cashews
- 4 Dried chilies
- 1 Bell pepper
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Fish sauce
- 3 tbsp Neutral oil
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 3 Scallions (optional)
Method
- Slice the chicken and bell pepper into bite-sized pieces and toast the cashews and dried chilies in a dry wok until fragrant, then tip them out.
- Heat the oil in the wok over high heat and stir-fry the chicken until cooked through and lightly golden, then add the bell pepper and stir-fry briefly.
- Add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and toss to coat, then fold in the toasted cashews and dried chilies.
- Scatter with scallions and serve with rice.
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About Cashew Chicken (Thai)
Cashew chicken, known in Thai as gai pad med mamuang himmaphan, is a wok stir-fry that shows the Chinese-Thai influence woven through central Thai cooking, close cousin to the cashew chicken you find across Southeast Asia but seasoned with the oyster sauce, fish sauce and dried chilies that mark it as Thai. It is a quick, savory dish defined by the interplay of tender chicken, sweet toasted cashews, and whole dried chilies that perfume the oil without setting the whole plate alight. Bell pepper and scallion keep it fresh and give color against the glossy brown sauce.
The pleasure of it is textural as much as anything: the crunch of nuts against soft chicken, the mild smokiness of chilies toasted until they turn brittle, and a sauce that is salty and just faintly sweet rather than syrupy. The move that lifts this version is dry-toasting the cashews and dried chilies in the hot wok first and setting them aside, so the nuts stay crisp and the chilies release their aroma instead of steaming in the sauce and going soft. It cooks in about twenty minutes over high heat, which makes it an ideal fast weeknight dinner served over rice, and it scales easily if you want to double it for a table.
Cashew Chicken (Thai): frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Cashew Chicken (Thai)?
A serving has about 840 calories — 37.9g protein, 23.3g carbs, 67.7g fat, 3.8g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 37.9g of protein, roughly 18% of its calories.
Is Cashew Chicken (Thai) gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Oyster sauce. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make Cashew Chicken (Thai)?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out scallions — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Cashew Chicken (Thai) make?
This recipe makes 2 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.