Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe (Gai Pad Med Mamuang)
Gai Pad Med Mamuang, or Thai Cashew Chicken, is a flavorful and easy Thai chicken stir fry that features chicken, cashews, onions, bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, scallions, garlic and ginger. There is a signature pop of heat from Thai red chili peppers that's nicely balanced with a touch of sweetness in the stir fry sauce.
Servings: 4
Calories: 726kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken thigh meat or chicken breast meat
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- pinch coarse salt
- pinch black pepper
- 2-3 tbsp peanut oil
- 3-4 dried Thai red chili peppers minced and seeds removed
- 1 1/2 cups cashew nuts
- 1 small onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced, grated, or shaved
- 5 oz shiitake mushrooms
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 bok choy
- 1/2 bunch scallions
Sauce*:
- 4 tbsp oyster sauce use gluten free if needed
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce use gluten free if needed
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
Prepping the ingredients:
- Make sure prepare your ingredients before starting to cook! This is a fairly fast moving recipe, so you need to have everything ready to go.
- Slice chicken into thin pieces, cut your vegetables, smash and mince garlic, peel and mince ginger, and measure everything you need for the sauce.
- Combine all of your sauce ingredient's in a measuring cup and whisk to combine. (TIP: you may want to heat up the chicken stock for a few seconds in a microwave so that it helps melt brown sugar when mixed.)
- Combine chicken with cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix well, until the chicken is evenly coated.
Cooking Cashew Chicken Stir Fry:
- Preheat a wok over medium to medium high heat and add about a tablespoon of the peanut oil.
- Sear chopped chili peppers for about 30 seconds, mixing several times so they don't burn. Take them out and set aside.
- Add cashews to the work and sear for a minute or so, tossing them a couple of times as well. Take them out and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil and sear garlic and ginger for a few seconds. Add in chicken and sear until chicken is almost done, stirring often.
- Stir in sliced mushrooms and bell pepper. Stir and let it sauté until it starts to soften.
- Stir in chopped bok choy and green onions. Mix to combine and stir in cashews and chili peppers.
- Whisk the sauce one more time and pour it over the chicken and vegetables. Stir well, while scraping bottom and sides of the wok (or the pan). Stir slowly and cook until for just a couple more minutes.
- Take off heat and serve!
Video
Notes
*Gluten Free Substitution: If you need to make the sauce gluten free, make sure to use gluten free soy sauce, gluten free oyster sauce, and double check the ingredients on your fish sauce.
Chicken Options: My personal recommendation is chicken thigh meat because dark meat is more flavorful and much juicier than breast meat. You can use either finely dice the chicken meat or you can use ground chicken (ground chicken is often a combination of light and dark meat). Personally, I prefer diced chicken thighs for a much better flavor. But, for easier and faster prep, feel free to use ground chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 726kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1844mg | Potassium: 1740mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 10500IU | Vitamin C: 137mg | Calcium: 297mg | Iron: 8mg