RECIPES • EASY DINNER
Quick, crispy, saucy goodness with crunchy cashews and plenty of fragrant Thai basil.
This is the kind of dinner I love on a busy evening: quick to cook, full of flavor, and perfect with a warm bowl of jasmine rice.
The chicken is lightly coated in flour and pan-fried until golden, then tossed with crunchy cashews, peppers, onion, garlic and a simple savory sauce.
But for me, there’s one ingredient that really makes this dish special: Thai basil.
I like to use at least ½ cup of Thai basil — and sometimes more. It adds such a beautiful fragrance and gives the finished dish that fresh Thai flavor I love.
🌿 Little Z’s Kitchen Note
Don’t be shy with the Thai basil. For me, it’s a must. The fresh fragrance at the end is one of my favorite parts of this dish.
Quick Weeknight Cooking
Why You’ll Love This Cashew Chicken
It’s crispy, savory, a little sweet, and full of different textures. You get golden chicken, crunchy cashews, crisp vegetables and a fragrant finish from fresh Thai basil.
It also comes together quickly once everything is chopped, which makes it a great recipe for a weeknight when you want something flavorful without spending the whole evening in the kitchen.
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
Chicken
- 600 g (1.3 lb) boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 50 g (about ⅓ cup) all-purpose flour
- 120 ml (about ½ cup) vegetable oil, for frying
Vegetables & Cashews
- 200 g (7 oz) unsalted cashews
- 2 white onions, cut into chunky pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 2 red chilies, sliced (remove the seeds for less heat, or leave them out completely)
- 3 spring onions, whites and greens separated
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ tablespoon sugar, optional
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce, optional
🌿 Don’t Forget the Thai Basil
½ cup or more fresh Thai basil leaves. I love using plenty because it gives the chicken a wonderful fragrance and fresh Thai flavor.
Step by Step
How to Make Thai Cashew Chicken
01
Marinate the Chicken
Place the chicken in a bowl and add the light soy sauce and white pepper.
Add the flour and toss until the chicken pieces are lightly and evenly coated.
02
Toast the Cashews
Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium heat.
Add the cashews and gently fry until lightly golden and fragrant. Keep an eye on them because cashews can brown quickly.
Remove the cashews from the oil and set aside. They’ll be added back at the end so they stay nice and crunchy.
03
Fry the Chicken Until Golden
Increase the heat to medium-high. Using the same oil, carefully add the marinated chicken.
Fry the chicken in batches until golden on the outside and completely cooked through. Avoid overcrowding the pan so the chicken gets lightly crispy instead of steaming.
Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set aside. Carefully remove any excess oil, leaving just enough in the pan for stir-frying the vegetables.
04
Stir-Fry the Vegetables
Add the onions, red and green peppers, garlic, chilies and the white parts of the spring onions.
Stir-fry for about 2–3 minutes, keeping the vegetables slightly crisp.
05
Make It Saucy
Return the chicken to the pan.
Add the oyster sauce, optional sugar and optional fish sauce. Toss everything together over high heat until the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated.
06
Add the Cashews & Spring Onions
Add the toasted cashews and the green parts of the spring onions.
Toss briefly so everything is coated in the sauce while the cashews stay nice and crunchy.
07
Finish with Plenty of Thai Basil
Turn off the heat and add at least ½ cup of fresh Thai basil.
Toss just until the leaves begin to wilt from the residual heat. I don’t like cooking the basil for too long because I want to keep that beautiful fresh fragrance.
🌿 The Thai Basil Trick
Add the basil only after turning off the heat. The warmth of the chicken and sauce will gently wilt the leaves without cooking away their fresh, aromatic flavor.
Serve It Hot
Spoon the cashew chicken over warm jasmine rice and add a few extra fresh Thai basil leaves on top if you have them.
Sweet, savory, crunchy and wonderfully fragrant.
A Few Helpful Notes
Little Tips for the Best Cashew Chicken
Prep everything before you start. Stir-frying moves quickly, so have the vegetables, sauce, cashews and basil ready before you begin cooking.
Toast the cashews first. Frying them briefly in the clean oil gives them a beautiful golden color and extra crunch. Remove them before frying the chicken so they don’t overcook.
Don’t overcrowd the chicken. Frying in batches helps it develop a golden, lightly crispy exterior.
Keep the vegetables crisp. They only need a few minutes in the hot pan.
Add the Thai basil at the very end. Turn off the heat first, then toss in the basil so it wilts gently while keeping its wonderful aroma.
Adjust the chilies to your family. Remove the seeds, use fewer chilies, or skip them entirely for a mild version.
An Easy Dinner Worth Repeating
This is exactly the kind of recipe I want to keep in my weeknight rotation: simple ingredients, lots of texture, plenty of flavor and not too much time in the kitchen.
Serve it with jasmine rice, add plenty of Thai basil, and dinner is ready.
Simple days. Creative moments. Little joys.
Little Z’s Corner
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