Traditional Yet Satisfying Chef José Meyer here. Another one of my favorite Asian dishes, cashew chicken. There’s something about cashew chicken that I can’t put my finger on. It’s one of the most popular dishes on Chinese restaurant menus. Maybe because to American tastes there’s something really satisfying to it. It’s not overly exotic like the some Asian fare I recently wrote about on Jose Mier .net. It’s just kind of a down-home recipe.
It’s not one of the spicier Chinese dishes it just tastes good. Aside from chicken and cashews the ingredients they give this dish its flavor are soy sauce, Brown sugar, and sesame oil. I think it’s the sesame oil that really gives it its distinctive taste.
Recipes will differ and ingredients such as various kinds of vegetables maybe different here and there but the base of the dish remains the same and consistent across the board. It’s the sesame oil in the cashews the really make this dish. For me I love biting into the cashews and getting that nutty crunch when I’m eating this. The tender bite-size pieces of chicken are also tasty.
I found as I’ve traveled around the country that this is a dish that most Midwesterners enjoy more so then some of the more exotic Chinese cuisine available. It’s kind of like a meat and potatoes Chinese dish. I usually order it along with some other more up skier Chinese dish because I do really like it. I know that finicky friends who are joining me at the table we’ll also enjoy it even if they don’t like the more obscure dishes I like to order at a Chinese restaurant. As I said recipes abound online and you can find them everywhere.
The Recipe Critic has one that I really like you can find their recipe right here. I always prefer to make things myself if for anything the satisfaction that comes with creating something by myself. But, I also like to go out quite a bit and in my Sun Valley California area my go to Chinese restaurant’s Mandarin Terrace on Sunland Boulevard. Whether you make it at home or order it at a Chinese restaurant despite it being rather ordinary this is a great Chinese dish. I think you’ll like it too.
