Pepper Cashew Chicken – 甜椒腰果炒雞肉

Pepper Cashew Chicken, or 甜椒腰果炒雞肉, features diced Chicken breast stir-fried with Cashews and Red Peppers in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.

This recipe for Chicken with Peppers and Cashews is very much the sort of thing that might get served as Kung Pao Chicken in many Westernized Chinese restaurants. It has, after all, nuts (albeit cashews rather than peanuts) and chili heat in a sweet and tangy sauce. For all that, it actually bears little resemblance to the classic Chinese Kung Pao style, but it is still very tasty nevertheless.

How to make Pepper Cashew Chicken

First, mix the chicken with the sesame oil and rice wine and set aside to marinate for thirty minutes or so.

Heat a cup of oil to the shimmering point in your wok and quickly fry the chicken pieces in several batches until they are opaque and getting slightly browned. Don’t overcrowd the pan so much that the oil temperature drops too much, and don’t overcook. You just want the pieces to be nicely cooked on the outside but still just a little raw in the center. Remove the chicken to a separate bowl for now.

Drain off all but a tablespoon or two of oil and add the chili paste and the ketchup. Stir it into the oil and, as soon as you smell the aroma of the two, add in the bell pepper. Toss for thirty seconds or so and add the sugar and the vinegar.

Finally, when the liquid in the wok is bubbling nicely (and excuse the lack of a picture here), add the chicken and stir-fry for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is forming a glaze. Add the cashews, toss a few more times until everything is nicely hot and then plate and serve.

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Pepper Cashew Chicken

Chicken with Peppers and Cashews is similar to Kung Pao Chicken. It isn’t the same as the properly made classic, but it still tastes great.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: Bell Peppers, Cashews, Chicken, Chili Paste, Sugar, Vinegar

Servings: 4 as one dish in a Chinese meal

Author: John Thompson

Ingredients

• 1 large boneless Chicken Breast cut into large dice
• ½ cup of Red Bell Pepper cut into small dice
• ½ cup whole Cashews;
• 1 tbsp. Rice Wine or Mirin or substitute dry sherry
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 2 tbsp. Ketchup
• 1 tbsp. mild Chili Paste
• 3 tbsp. Sugar
• 3 tbsp. Vinegar

Instructions

• Mix the chicken with the sesame oil and rice wine and set aside to marinate for thirty minutes.
• Deep-fry the Chicken in a cup of oil until just beginning to brown but not cooked through.
• Drain off all but one tablespoon of oil from your pan, add the Chili Paste and Ketchup and, when the aroma rises, add in the Bell Pepper.
• Stir fry for thirty seconds or so, then add the Sugar and Vinegar.
• When the sauce begins to bubble, add in the Chicken and stir-fry until it is cooked through and the sauce forms a glaze.
• Add the Cashews, continue cooking until all is heated through and serve.