This spicy cashew chicken recipe is a fast, high-heat wok stir fry — chicken, roasted cashews, and a glossy soy-based sauce with real chilli heat, ready in about 20 minutes total. No tandoor involved anywhere here; this is a Chinese food cashew chicken recipe built entirely on a hot wok or pan, and one of the easier easy cashew chicken recipes to get right once you understand the two techniques that actually matter.
This guide covers why the chicken needs to be velveted before it hits the wok, how to keep the cashews crunchy rather than soggy, and the sauce timing that gets a properly glossy coating rather than a thin, watery one. It also covers how carbs in cashew chicken break down, a keto-friendly adaptation, and how this Chinese-American version compares to a Thai cashew chicken recipe. If your stir fry cashew chicken has come out with soggy nuts or rubbery chicken before, this guide covers exactly why.
Table of Contents
Spicy Cashew Chicken — Recipe Card
Velveted chicken stir fried with roasted cashews in a glossy, spicy soy-based sauce — a genuinely easy cashew chicken recipe once the wok is hot. Everything you need is below — for the full technique breakdown and troubleshooting, keep scrolling past the card.
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 cup roasted cashews
- 3 dried red chillies, or 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp oil, for stir frying
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- Combine the chicken with egg white, cornstarch, and Shaoxing wine. Let sit 15 minutes to velvet.
- Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large pan until very hot. Stir fry the chicken until just cooked through, then remove.
- In the same pan, stir fry the dried chillies, garlic, and ginger for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Return the chicken to the pan along with the cashews.
- Pour in the sauce and toss until glossy and thickened, about 1 minute.
- Finish with green onions and serve immediately.
How to Make Cashew Chicken
How to make cashew chicken in short: velvet cubed chicken in egg white and cornstarch, stir fry it hot and fast, bloom garlic, ginger, and dried chilli, then toss everything with roasted cashews and a soy-based sauce until glossy. That's this best recipe cashew chicken fans keep coming back to, and it's genuinely one of the easier easy cashew chicken options once the velveting step clicks.
The cashew chicken main ingredients break down into three groups: the chicken and its velveting coat, the aromatics and cashews for the stir fry itself, and a short soy-oyster-vinegar sauce. Nothing exotic — the cashew chicken ingredients list is short, and everything should be prepped before the wok goes on the heat, since stir frying moves too fast to pause partway through.
What You'll Need
Everything prepped and ready before the wok gets hot — stir frying moves fast.
For the Chicken and Velveting
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
For the Stir Fry
- 1 cup roasted cashews
- 3 dried red chillies, or 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons oil, for stir frying
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
A note on prep: have every ingredient measured, chopped, and within reach before you turn on the heat — a proper stir fry moves too fast to pause and prep mid-cook.
Adjusting the Heat Level
Heat level in this spicy chicken cashew dish comes almost entirely from the dried chillies, making it easy to adjust without touching anything else.
Mild
Use just 1 dried chilli, or skip the chilli flakes substitute entirely, for a dish that leans more on the savoury sauce than heat.
Medium (Recommended, Used Above)
3 dried chillies gives noticeable warmth without overwhelming the dish — the default assumed by the recipe above.
Hot
Increase to 5 or 6 dried chillies, or add a small spoonful of chilli garlic sauce along with the stir fry sauce for real heat.
Step by Step
Velvet the Chicken
Combine the chicken with egg white, cornstarch, and Shaoxing wine. Let sit 15 minutes.
Make the Sauce
Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Stir Fry the Chicken
Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. Stir fry the chicken until just cooked through, then remove.
Bloom the Aromatics
In the same pan, stir fry the dried chillies, garlic, and ginger for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Combine
Return the chicken to the pan along with the roasted cashews.
Add the Sauce
Pour in the sauce and toss until glossy and thickened, about 1 minute.
Finish and Serve
Finish with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Why Velveting Keeps the Chicken Tender at Stir Fry Heat
Stir frying uses higher heat than almost any other home cooking technique, and chicken breast in particular can turn tough and rubbery under that heat without a specific preparation step first.
Why Egg White and Cornstarch Protect the Meat
Velveting coats the chicken's surface in a thin layer of egg white and cornstarch, which cooks into a protective barrier that shields the meat underneath from the wok's intense direct heat. Without that barrier, the outside of the chicken can overcook and toughen before the inside is even close to done.
Why Cashews Go In Late, Not Early
Cashews are already fully cooked from roasting, so adding them at the start would only expose them to unnecessary extended heat and moisture from the sauce, softening their crunch. Adding them just before the sauce keeps them crisp against the glossy, saucy chicken.
Confirming the Chicken Is Fully Cooked
USDA guidance requires 165°F for chicken — given how quickly stir frying cooks small pieces, a quick visual and texture check (opaque throughout, firm but not rubbery) combined with a thermometer spot check is a reliable way to confirm doneness.
Carbs, Keto, and a Thai-Style Variation
Carbs in Cashew Chicken
This recipe runs about 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving as written — see the full nutrition breakdown further down the page. Most of that comes from the cashews themselves and the small amount of sugar and cornstarch in the sauce, not from any flour or breading, since this dish is never battered or deep-fried.
Keto Cashew Chicken
To bring the carbs down further for a keto cashew chicken version, swap the sugar for a keto-friendly sweetener at a 1:1 ratio, and replace the cornstarch in both the velveting step and the sauce with an equal amount of glucomannan or xanthan gum, used sparingly since both thicken more aggressively than cornstarch. We haven't tested this exact substitution, so add any thickener gradually and adjust to the consistency you want. Cashews themselves are moderate in carbs for a nut, so consider dropping the quantity slightly or swapping in macadamia nuts if you're tracking carbs closely.
Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe: How It Differs
A Thai cashew chicken recipe (often called gai pad med mamuang) shares the same core idea — chicken, cashews, chilli — but leans on fish sauce, oyster sauce, and often fresh Thai chillies and dried chilli pods rather than a soy-oyster base, and typically includes onion and bell pepper in the stir fry itself. We haven't tested a Thai version on this page, but a reasonable starting point is swapping half the soy sauce for fish sauce and adding a diced onion and bell pepper to the aromatics step.
What to Serve Cashew Chicken With
This spicy cashew chicken recipe is traditionally served over steamed white rice, which soaks up the glossy sauce well. A side of simple steamed or stir-fried greens rounds out the meal nicely.
For a completely different chicken and heat direction, our gochujang chicken recipe elsewhere on this site uses a Korean chilli paste glaze instead of a Chinese stir fry sauce.
Additional Technique Notes
Prep Everything Before Turning On the Heat
Stir frying moves fast — there's no time to chop or measure mid-cook.
Velvet the Chicken
Don't skip this step — it's what keeps the chicken tender at the high heat stir frying requires.
Keep the Wok Genuinely Hot
A properly hot wok sears rather than steams — if the pan isn't hot enough, the chicken will release liquid and stew instead.
Add Cashews Late
This keeps them crunchy rather than letting them soften in the sauce.
Confirm Doneness
Per USDA guidance, chicken should reach 165°F — check a larger piece with a thermometer if you're ever unsure.
Common Problems and Fixes
The Chicken Was Tough or Rubbery
Almost always a skipped or rushed velveting step. Give the chicken its full 15 minutes with the egg white and cornstarch coating.
The Cashews Were Soggy
Added too early. Stir them in only in the final couple of minutes, right before the sauce.
The Sauce Was Too Thin
Make sure the cornstarch in the sauce is fully whisked in with no clumps, and let it simmer briefly to thicken before removing from heat.
The Dish Tasted Steamed Instead of Seared
The pan likely wasn't hot enough, or too much chicken was added at once. Work in batches if needed and make sure the oil is shimmering before adding anything.
Storing Leftover Cashew Chicken
This dish keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 days refrigerated, though the cashews will soften somewhat in storage. Reheat in a hot pan rather than the microwave for the best texture.
This dish isn't well suited to freezing, since both the chicken's velveted texture and the cashews' crunch suffer after thawing.
Where Cashew Chicken Fits
This stir fry cashew chicken is a Chinese-American restaurant staple, drawing on genuine Chinese stir fry technique — velveting, high-heat wok cooking, a glossy cornstarch-thickened sauce — while representing a dish more associated with American Chinese restaurants than mainland Chinese home cooking. A chicken cashew recipe Chinese in style like this one differs from the Thai version covered above mainly in its sauce base and aromatics.
| Spicy Cashew Chicken Chinese-American | Velveted chicken and roasted cashews in a glossy, spicy soy sauce — the style this recipe follows. |
| Kung Pao Chicken Sichuan, China | A close relative using peanuts instead of cashews and typically a more pronounced Sichuan peppercorn numbing heat. |
| Thai Cashew Chicken Thailand | Built on fish sauce and often onion and bell pepper — see the Thai-style variation section above. |
| Gochujang Chicken Korea | A different chilli-heat direction entirely — see our full recipe for the Korean gochujang glaze version. |
A General Note on Nutrition
This Chinese cashew chicken is a moderately rich dish, with the cashews and oil both contributing meaningfully to the fat content alongside the chicken's lean protein. Carbs in cashew chicken stay relatively modest at about 15g per serving, mostly from the cashews and a small amount of sugar rather than any batter or flour coating. Check specific figures via USDA FoodData Central for your exact ingredients.
Estimated values calculated from the recipe's ingredients using standard USDA reference data, not a laboratory analysis. Actual values will vary based on exact brands, measuring technique, and preparation choices. For a precise figure, calculate directly from the ingredients you use via USDA FoodData Central.
Cashews add healthy fats and a good amount of protein on top of the chicken's own contribution, making this a genuinely satisfying, protein-forward stir fry. As with any recipe, check ingredients against your own dietary needs via USDA FoodData Central rather than relying on general notes like this one.
Frequently Asked Questions — Spicy Cashew Chicken Recipe
Does this spicy cashew chicken recipe use a tandoor?
How many carbs are in cashew chicken?
Can I make a keto version of this recipe?
What is velveting and why does this recipe use it?
Why did my chicken turn out tough?
How is this different from a Thai cashew chicken recipe?
Why do the cashews go in near the end instead of the beginning?
How do I know the chicken is fully cooked?
Can I make this less spicy?
Can I substitute chicken thigh for breast?
What can I use instead of Shaoxing wine?
Where can I find a different spicy chicken direction?
Discover Our Tandoor Ovens
No tandoor required for this recipe — but if you're curious, here's a sample from across our range.
34x34x37 inches. From our Commercial Tandoor Ovens line.
24x24x37 inches. From our Catering Tandoor Ovens line, charcoal and wood fired.
32x37 inches. From our Copper Tandoor Ovens line.