One of the strongest memories we bring back from holidays is the flavours of the local food. Even years later, tasting one memorable dish will transport you right back. In Thailand, you’ll find five flavours: sweet, sour, salty, creamy and spicy. As for that one dish that will transport you to the Land of the Smiles? For many, that means a tasty chicken with cashew nuts. It’s a dish you will find the length and breadth of the country which is a staple for tourists and locals alike.
Just like the Thai beef salad that we recently cooked, this is a dish that is positively exploding with flavours.
Like most regional dishes, there are plenty of different varieties, but we’ve tried to keep things simple with ingredients easily available in most countries. You’ll love every single mouthful of this Thai classic…
Chicken With Cashew Nuts: Ingredients
- Red peppers
- Red onions
- Green onions (spring onions)
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Cashew nuts
- Chicken breast or chicken fillets
- Sugar
- Flour
Start by heating a pan with a small amount of oil and browning off the cashew nuts. This toasting process will require you to toss them every few seconds and will take 2-3 minutes.
Remove the nuts from the pan and set to one side. You are looking for a rich golden brown colour, so when they reach that, take them off the heat.
Dice the chicken up into small pieces and dust with flour. This will give it that unique, crispy texture when fried.
Shake off any of the excess flour and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a large pan with a generous amount of sunflower oil and get it as hot as you possibly can. You could also use a wok for this step.
When the chicken is crispy and cooked through, remove it from the pan.
Dice up the red and green onions as well as the peppers, and slice the garlic as thin as you can.
Pop them all into a pan that you have heated up to a high temperature. This is all about bringing everything together in one go, so keep the pan tossing and the ingredients moving at all times.
Add the chicken and the nuts back in.
Add a spoonful of sugar. You could easily leave this out, but sugar is a key part of Thai cooking and adds to the sweetness of this dish.
Finish the dish with the chopped green onions at the very last minute.
Serve it up with rice. Because the nuts and chicken are crispy, this is a dish that is best served fresh and not reheated at a later date.
You can now enjoy the flavours of Thailand in your own home with this delicious chicken with cashew nuts.
If you like this recipe, check out our other foodie content over on the Big 7 Travel Instagram account.
