This fast and simple Chinese Chicken Cashew Stir Fry is a great throw-together dinner for busy weeknights. With plenty of veggies, tender chicken breast and a quick and easy sauce, this versatile stir fry can be served solo, or over noodles or rice!

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Easy, quick and delicious chicken cashew stir fry- perfect for weeknights

Stir fry is synonymous with weeknight cooking for a reason. It's FAST. It's EASY. And it's DELICIOUS and NUTRITIOUS. This Chicken Cashew Stir Fry stays true to that notion with plenty of fresh veggies, a quick and simple sauce, and plenty of lean chicken breast and protein-rich cashews. Aside from some slicing and dicing, this meal comes together in under 30 minutes, and can be served as-is, or over your favorite rice or noodles for a simple and satisfying weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

With a quick and simple tenderizing chicken marinade and a super simple and flavorful sauce, this stir fry is always a hit!

What goes into the Chicken stir fry?

To make this veggie-packed dinner stir fry, you'll need:

A boneless skinless chicken breast. Slice it thinly so it cooks evenly and quickly.
Tapioca starch or cornstarch. Let the chicken marinade for the best stir fry. Add low sodium soy sauce to the cornstarch to "velvet" your chicken, as well as flavor it and help it to brown.
Canola oil, or a high smoke point, neutral oil, such as peanut or avocado oil.
A couple bell peppers.
A red onion. In a pinch, a white or yellow onion will do just fine.
Fresh snap peas.
A Thai chili pepper.
Fresh ginger. Make sure to peel it well before slicing into paper thin strips.
Roasted salted cashews. If you're into the low sodium vibe, you can do no-salt or lightly salted.

Stir fry prep is a breeze with the right kitchen tools

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For this recipe, I used their 16 piece Knives Set. The stylist set comes with an assortment of quality kitchen knives, a peeler, kitchen shears, and a sharpener The sleek holder is easy to store, and takes up less space than a standard knife block.

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Making the sauce for the Chinese chicken cashew stir fry

To make the tasty sauce for this chicken stir fry, you will need:

Dark brown sugar.
Low sodium soy sauce.
Sesame oil. My favorite is Kadoya Toasted Sesame Oil.
Good quality fish sauce.
Unseasoned rice vinegar.
Honey.
Fresh garlic.
Sriracha chili sauce.
3-4 dashes Maggi seasoning (optional, but recommended). This adds an extra level of umami to the dish, and I actually HIGHLY recommend it. If you do use it, use it sparingly. A little bit goes a long way.

Make the sauce by whisking all the above ingredients together well. Make the sauce before you begin to cook, as the stir fry cooks up super fast, and you'll want it at the ready.

Looking for more great recipes?

Why not try my Shrimp and Mango Poke Bowls, Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers with Orzo, Kani Salad Sushi Bowls, or Wasabi Shrimp Sushi Tacos!

Serve the Chinese chicken cashew stir fry with noodles, rice, or as is!

I love this Chinese chicken cashew stir fry with noodles, like rice stick or ramen. It's also great over some white or brown rice, or even some cauliflower rice! Serving it over noodles or rice is a great way to make sure the whole family is full and satisfied.

If you're living that low carb life, I recommend serving slightly larger portions. So rather than serving 6 with this dish, plan on serving 3 or 4 people.

Print Recipe

Chicken Cashew Stir Fry

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Keyword: chicken breast, stir fry

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Stir Fry

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced into strips
1 tablespoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium sized red onion, thinly sliced
8 oz snap peas, ends trimmed
1 Thai chili pepper, cut into thin rings
¼ cup peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 cup roasted salted cashews

Sauce

½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoon honey
4 cloves finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
3-4 dashes Maggi seasoning , (optional, but recommended)

Garnishes

thinly sliced scallions
sesame seeds

Instructions

Make the sauce:
1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium bowl or liquid measure, and whisk until well incorporated. Set aside.
Make the stir fry:
1. Thinly slice chicken, and coat well with soy sauce and cornstarch or tapioca starch.
2. In a large nonstick frying pan or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until shimmering.
3. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes.
4. Remove chicken to a large bowl and set aside.
5. Add bell peppers and red onion to the pan. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened slightly. Remove to bowl with chicken.
6. Add snow peas, Thai chilis, ginger and cashews to the pan, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Add reserved chicken and veggies back to the pan with the snow peas, chilis and ginger, and toss with sauce, reduce heat to medium and cook 4-5 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly.
8. Serve hot as is, or over prepared rice or noodles. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.

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