Cashew Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

If you’re on the hunt for another delicious stir fry to add to your rotations, then today you’re in luck. Follow me…

Cashew Stir Fry Sauce

The sauce for this stir fry is nothing short of drinkable. The key ingredient is cashew butter, which creates the base of the sauce and not only offers a ton of cashew flavour, but it all helps create a smooth, creamy sauce.

Where can I find Cashew Butter?

You’ll find it next to the peanut butter in most supermarkets.

Can I make this sauce ahead of time?

You sure can! Just tightly store in the fridge then bring to room temp before needed. It’ll last 2-3days. Process shots: gather ingredients (photo 1), add to mixing bowl (photo 2), whisk until smooth (photo 3).

Cashew Chicken

So a lot of the cashew flavour will come from the butter, but we’re also going to add in some whole cashews, just for good measure. I like to fry them off first for two reasons:

Flavour – Frying the cashews will intensify their flavour. Oil – By frying them you’ll infuse the oil, which you can then recycle and fry the chicken in.

What cut of chicken to use?

I prefer using chicken thigh because it’s juicier and more tender than breast. It also doesn’t dry out as easily. If I’ve only got breast, I usually take it out of the pan after it’s fried, then add it back in at the end, just so it doesn’t dry out by the time all the veg has cooked. In both cases though it’s most important that you’re using boneless skinless meat. Process shots: add cashews to hot oil (photo 1), fry until deep golden then remove (photo 2), add chicken to leftover oil (photo 3), fry until no longer pink (photo 4).

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Alongside the chicken & cashews, we’re also going to add some noodles, cabbage, carrot, spring onion and beansprouts.

What kind of noodles to use?

I recommend using thick noodles, just because the sauce can be quite thick and tends to clump up if you’ve got really fine noodles. I typically use dried noodles and cook/soak them as per packet instruction. Here I’ve used Udon noodles.

Tips for making a great stir fry

Prepping Veg – Ensure you have all the veg prepped and ready to go before starting, just so it’s ready to quickly hit the pan when needed. Cooking Veg – Stir fries need to happen over high heat, so make sure the wok/pan is smoking hot before you start adding anything in. Cooking veg low and slow makes it limp and too soft. Order of Veg – Different veg will cook at different rates, so just make sure you add the more dense/firm veg in first (i.e cabbage/carrots) and place the softer veg in towards the end (spring onion/beansprouts).

Process shots: add carrot and cabbage to cooked chicken (photo 1), fry until softened (photo 2), add noodles and cashew sauce (photo 3), toss to coat (photo 4), add beansprouts, spring onion and toasted cashews (photo 5), toss to coat (photo 6).

Serving Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

To serve, I usually hold back some cashews and spring onion to use as garnish. From there, just tuck in and enjoy!

What can I do with leftovers?

If there are leftovers just tightly store in the fridge, then stir fry again until the chicken is piping hot, using a dash of water to loosen up the sauce if needed. Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these chicken cashew butter noodles shall we?!