Description
Cheesecake Factory’s Spicy Cashew Chicken is a crispy, flavorful dish featuring tender chicken pieces fried in a seasoned rice flour batter, then tossed in a spicy soy-sherry sauce with crunchy cashews and fresh green onions. Perfectly balanced with a hint of heat and tang, this recipe delivers restaurant-quality flavor straight to your kitchen in about 50 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Chicken:
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 8 oz cashews
- 6 green onions, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
Seasoned Rice Flour:
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp paprika
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
Rice Flour Batter:
- 1 ½ cups rice flour
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups ice water
Spicy Soy-Sherry Sauce:
- 1 cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or white grape juice
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 oz fresh garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp crushed red chili flakes
Instructions
- Make the Seasoned Rice Flour: In a bowl, mix the rice flour, kosher salt, ground black pepper, paprika, and baking powder thoroughly to create the seasoned coating for the chicken.
- Make the Rice Flour Batter: In a separate bowl, combine the rice flour, all-purpose flour, kosher salt, ground black pepper, and ice water. Stir gently to form a smooth batter and keep it cold to maintain its consistency.
- Prepare the Spicy Soy-Sherry Sauce: In another bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar (or white grape juice), rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, granulated sugar, minced garlic, and crushed red chili flakes until evenly incorporated.
- Cook the Chicken: Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned rice flour to coat them evenly. Then dip each piece into the prepared batter, ensuring full coverage. Heat the canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and fry the battered chicken pieces for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
- Add Sauce and Cashews: Return the fried chicken to the pan, add the prepared spicy soy-sherry sauce, cashews, and green onions. Toss everything together over medium heat for about one minute until the sauce thickens and evenly coats the chicken and cashews.
- Serve: Transfer to a serving dish, and optionally garnish with sesame seeds and parsley. Serve immediately while hot and enjoy your homemade Spicy Cashew Chicken.
Notes
- Keep the batter cold to ensure the chicken fries up light and crispy.
- You can substitute chicken thighs for breasts if preferred, adjusting cooking time slightly.
- Adjust the amount of sriracha and crushed red chili flakes to control spiciness.
- For a gluten-free version, ensure the hoisin and soy sauces used are gluten-free and omit the all-purpose flour or substitute with gluten-free flour.
- Serve with jasmine rice or steamed vegetables for a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American-Chinese
