Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
A small dry-style stir fry of chicken thigh strips, cashews, onion, and a concentrated oyster-soy-fish sauce.
Ingredients
Stir-fry base
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, unsalted Note 1 for roasted
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 onion brown, yellow, or white, cut into thin wedges
- 200 g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, sliced into thin strips about 7 ounces; slice into 1/3-inch strips
- 2 green onions cut into lengths, white part separated from green part
- 1/2 pepper red cayenne, deseeded and finely sliced fresh chile, not powdered cayenne; optional
Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce Note 4
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce Note 5
- 2 tsp fish sauce Note 6
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 3 tbsp water
Serving
- as needed cooked jasmine rice for two servings; cooking time is separate
- Red chili, finely sliced optional garnish
Instructions
- Combine the five sauce ingredients. Prepare thin chicken strips, onion, optional fresh chile, and separated green onion whites and tops.
- Toast raw cashews in the cooking oil at moderate heat until golden, about 3–5 minutes, then remove. Roasted cashews need a much shorter warm-through.
- Briefly cook garlic and onion at higher heat, then stir-fry chicken. Add onion whites and optional chile as the meat cooks.
- Continue until thicker chicken strips reach 165°F. Add the prepared sauce and toss as it reduces to a coating.
- Return nuts and green tops for a final brief toss. Serve two portions with separately cooked rice.
Notes
This 200-gram chicken batch serves two with rice. Check thicker strips at 165°F. Rice preparation is separate; roasted cashews need less toasting.