Chinese-Style Chicken with Cashews and Bell Pepper Recipe
A homemade version of a popular Chinese restaurant dish: tender pieces of chicken stir-fried with crunchy bell pepper and cashew nuts in a lightly sweet and salty sauce. In China, quick wok dishes like this are perfect for a post-work dinner – they come together in no time, and the whole meal is really just one big, colorful meat-and-vegetable stir-fry. It goes perfectly with a bowl of rice and doesn’t require any complicated techniques.
A quick, colorful stir-fry that brings classic Chinese restaurant flavors to your home kitchen with simple ingredients and no special equipment beyond a regular frying pan.
Chef's tips
Cut the chicken into evenly sized pieces so it cooks at the same speed and stays juicy. Keep the heat high while stir-frying and avoid overcrowding the pan – this helps the meat brown instead of steaming. Have all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking, because the dish comes together very quickly once the pan is hot.
How to serve
Serve in deep bowls over a bed of hot jasmine or basmati rice. Add a side of lightly pickled cucumbers or a simple Asian-style salad with cabbage and carrot for freshness. For a more filling meal, pair it with a simple egg-drop soup or miso soup.
Ingredients
- chicken breast skinless, boneless - 400 g
- bell pepper - 1 piece
- bell pepper any color - 1 piece
- unsalted cashew nuts - 70 g
- garlic - 3 cloves
- fresh ginger piece about 3 cm - 15 g
- light soy sauce - 3 tablespoons
- dark soy sauce can be omitted, but adds color - 1 tablespoon
- rice vinegar can be replaced with apple cider vinegar - 1.5 tablespoons
- sugar or honey - 1.5 teaspoons
- potato starch or corn starch - 2 teaspoons
- water for the sauce - 60 ml
- oil e.g. rapeseed oil - 3 tablespoons
- chili flakes or hot chili paste to taste, can be omitted - 0.5 teaspoons
- chives chopped, for sprinkling - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Cut the chicken into thin strips or small cubes. Transfer to a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of starch. Mix with your hand until the meat is evenly coated. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Wash the bell peppers, remove the cores and seeds, and cut into strips about 1 cm wide. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger with a teaspoon and cut into very thin matchsticks or finely chop.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, the dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, water and 1 teaspoon of starch. Stir until the starch dissolves – you’ll get a light sauce.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat for about 1 minute. Add the cashew nuts and fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden and fragrant. Transfer them to a small plate.
- Pour another 2 tablespoons of oil into the same pan. When it is well heated (it should shimmer slightly), add the chicken. Fry for 4–5 minutes over high heat, stirring frequently, until the pieces are white inside and lightly browned on the outside. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pan. Fry for about 30 seconds, stirring, until they become very fragrant but do not brown. Add the bell peppers and fry for 3–4 minutes over fairly high heat, stirring, until they soften but are still slightly crunchy.
- Return the chicken to the pan along with any juices from the plate. Stir to combine. Stir the sauce in the bowl again (starch tends to sink to the bottom) and pour it into the pan.
- Cook everything together for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and becomes slightly glossy, and all the ingredients are evenly coated. If the sauce is too thick, add 1–2 tablespoons of water.
- Finally, add the toasted cashew nuts, stir and taste. If needed, season with a little more soy sauce or a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately, preferably with hot rice.
Storage
Przechowuj w szczelnym pojemniku. Podgrzewaj na patelni z odrobiną wody, aż sos znów stanie się gładki. Po rozmrożeniu nie zamrażaj ponownie.
