Yāoguǒ Jīdīng

diced chicken velveted silky-smooth and stir-fried with golden cashews and crisp vegetables in a light, savoury sauce of soy and rice wine, the classic cashew chicken of the Cantonese kitchen

Origin: China

From the journey of Cashew.

The Chinese knew the cashew as yāoguǒ, the 'kidney nut', for its curved shape, and in the warm south of the country, where the tree took hold after the age of sail, the Cantonese kitchen made of it one of the great stir-fries: yāoguǒ jīdīng, diced chicken with cashews. It is a dish built on the Cantonese arts of the wok: the chicken is first velveted, marinated in egg white, cornflour, and rice wine and passed briefly through warm oil or water so that it cooks up impossibly tender and silky, then tossed at high heat with golden roasted cashews and a bright confetti of diced vegetables (carrot, celery, pepper, water chestnut) in a light, clean sauce of soy, oyster sauce, and rice wine. Lighter, milder, and more delicate than its fiery Thai cousin, the Cantonese cashew chicken became a fixture of the Chinese restaurant the world over, and one of the dishes by which the cashew, a New World nut wholly naturalised into Chinese cooking, is best known beyond Asia.

Ingredients

The Chicken

  • 400 g boneless chicken breast, cut into 1.5cm dice

The Velvet Marinade

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
  • 0.5 tsp salt

The Stir-fry

  • 100 g raw cashews
  • 1 small carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 0.5 red pepper, finely diced
  • 4 water chestnuts, diced (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced; plus 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 4 tbsp oil

The Sauce

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
  • 0.5 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Method

  1. Mix the chicken with the egg white, cornflour, rice wine, and salt and leave to marinate for 20 minutes. This is the velveting that makes it tender.
  2. Toast the cashews in a dry or lightly oiled wok over a medium heat until golden, then set aside. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
  3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in the wok until hot. Add the chicken and stir-fry quickly until it turns white and is just cooked, about 2 to 3 minutes, then lift out.
  4. Wipe out the wok if needed, add the last of the oil, and stir-fry the garlic, ginger, and all the diced vegetables over a high heat for 2 minutes, keeping them crisp.
  5. Return the chicken, pour in the sauce, and toss until it thickens and glazes everything. Stir in the cashews and sesame oil and toss for a final 30 seconds.
  6. Serve at once with steamed rice.

Notes

A Sichuan version, gong bao (kung pao) style, adds dried chillies and Sichuan pepper for heat and numbing fragrance; this Cantonese version is mild and clean. Diced vegetables vary by kitchen; carrot, celery, pepper, and water chestnut are classic. Use chicken thigh if you prefer a richer, more forgiving cut.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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