Paleo Cashew Chicken
by Paleo Cashew Chicken. Whole30 and Keto Cashew Chicken recipe with tender juicy stir-fry chicken breasts. This healthy, low carb, and flavorful Paleo Cashew Chicken is easy and quick to make, packed with big flavor. Learn how to make cashew nut chicken tender, soft, and moist for the best Cashew Chicken recipe !
Also check out my Thai Cashew Chicken recipe, if you love Thai food as much as I do!
Paleo Cashew Chicken – Tender and Moist Chicken Breasts
Ever wonder how to make stir-fry chicken tender and moist like your favorite Chinese takeout ? Good news ! My Paleo Cashew Chicken recipe will show you how to make cashew chicken healthy, low carb, and with a simple technique to keep stir-fry chicken tender, moist, and juicy.
The most flavorful and tender Paleo Cashew Chicken – Whole30, Keto, and Low carb
To make this Paleo Cashew Chicken truly flavorful, I used Entube’s harissa chili paste to mimic Sichuan flavor. There are two key points to make your Paleo Cashew Chicken packed with flavor –
Keep the sauté skillet dry (i.e. non-watery) when saluting the aromatics and harissa sauce in the recipe steps below. Saute ingredients separately to keep the vegetables crunchy. Be sure to follow the recipe instructions below for more info.
Check out my article on 7 stir-fry mistakes every home cook should know.
How to make stir-fry chicken tender and soft
- Thin slice chicken breasts
- Coat the chicken breasts with one lightly whisked egg white, salt, white pepper, and arrowroot powder
- Blanch them in hot boiling water until the pieces turn white color. Set aside to drain.
- Stir-fry the chicken further with sauce and vegetables.
This is the secret to make stir-fry chicken tender just like your favorite Chinese restaurant and it’s a technique called velvet.
This Paleo Cashew Chicken is the perfect example for Chinese stir-fry. It hits all the remarks and characteristics – color, flavor, and texture. The vegetables are colorful and crunchy and the chicken breasts are moist and tender.
Check out this YouTube video I made a few years back. Same technique and method for my Paleo Cashew Chicken !
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CtcwfHbVIA[/embedyt]So my friends, be sure to follow the instructions below. I guarantee you’ll use the velvet technique whenever you make stir-fry chicken and this Paleo Cashew Chicken will become one of your favorite chicken stir-fry dishes !
This Paleo Cashew Chicken is –
Tender, moist, soft
Big on flavor
Very appetizing
Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Low carb
If you give this Paleo Cashew Chicken a try, let me know ! Leave a comment and rate the recipe. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #IHeartUmami on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. XOXO !
Paleo Cashew Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts, thin sliced (think sashimi thin slices)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 red and 1 green bell peppers, diced (or replace green bell pepper for ¾ pint shishito peppers)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Entube’s Harissa chili paste, alternative: tomato paste
- ⅓ cup raw or toasted cashew
- Coarse salt and white pepper to taste
- Coconut oil or ghee, saute use
Stir-fry sauce : (stir and dissolve well)
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce
- ¼ tsp arrowroot powder
My signature formula to make stir-fry chicken tender:
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Pinch of white pepper
- ¾ tbsp arrowroot powder
Instructions
- Combine thin sliced chicken breasts with ingredients under “my signature formula to make stir-fry chicken tender”. Mix everything well. Set aside in the fridge.
- Velvet technique: Bring a pot of water to boil. After boiling, lower the temperature to simmering, add 1 tbsp oil, and add chicken from the previous step. Stir the water gently to separate the chicken pieces and prevent them from sticking to each other. After about 1 minute, or as soon as the chicken turns white color, set the chicken aside and drain well. (*Note: the chicken is not cooked through at this stage. We will finish cooking in the following steps)
- Saute peppers: In a large saute skillet, heat 1 ½ tbsp avocado oil over high heat. When hot, saute diced onions, shishito peppers (or green bell peppers), and red bell peppers with a pinch of salt and white pepper. When the onions just turn translucent and the peppers are still crunchy. Set them aside over a large serving bowl along with any juice/liquid in the skillet.
- Saute aromatics: Use the same saute pan (there should be no liquid juice in the skillet), heat 1-2 tbsp avocado oil over medium-high heat. When hot lower the heat to medium. Add minced garlic, chopped ginger, harissa paste, and a small pinch of salt. Stir-fry the aromatics for about 10 seconds until fragrant. If it feels too dry when sauteing the aromatics, add a bit more cooking oil.
- Add chicken: Drain the chicken well and make sure there’s no additional liquid before adding them back to the skillet. Stir-fry with the aromatics and harissa paste for an additional minute. Add “stir-fry sauce combo”. Keep stir-frying until the chicken is cooked through. A few minutes before turning off the heat, add ⅓ cup cashew to the skillet. Coat the sauce over.
- Serve: Pour the sauce, chicken, and cashew nuts over bell peppers and onions. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Love Paleo Chinese Takeout food ?
Check out my Paleo Beef with Broccoli, Paleo Kung Pao Chicken, Paleo Sesame Chicken, Chinese Pepper Steak, and Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Oh goodness! So lovely and tasty looking! This might be dinner tonight:)
Thank you, Linda !
Love how easy and delicious this sounds!
The seasoning in this dish sounds insanely good. Beautiful photography as always <3
Can’t wait to try this!! A version I KNOW is safe, but still really easy to make, thanks ChihYu!
LOVED it!! Super quick and easy, completely delicious! I did the tomato sauce variation…no paste or harissa sauce. Thanks ChihYu!
Thanks so much, Tessa ! I highly recommend trying out the harissa paste for this dish. It reminds me of my favorite Sichuan style cashew chicken my grandmother made. So good !!
What kind of pan did you use for this stir fry?
Made this tonight and it was delish! Best stirfry I’ve ever made. Only problem was that the sauce got way too salty. Do you think the aminos could be diluted somehow?
Hi Anzley, happy to hear you love the dish. It’s one of my favorite too ! Are you using the same brand of Harissa chili paste from Entube ?
Interesting to include harissa! Love the Tunisian influence. I have some of the powder in my cupboard right now, which I make into a paste by adding oil. It’s delicious!
Thank you, Rachel. It was revelation when I discovered a substitute chili paste for the traditional Chinese chili sauce. It’s the closest flavor I could find and that’s also Paleo and Whole30, combined with all other ingredients in the recipe plus cooking methods I feel very satisfied about recreating this dish. YUM !
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try your signature formula!
Thanks Becky !
This sounds so yummy! I LOVE cashews with chicken, that’s one of my favorite flavor combos. Another beautiful meal as usual!
Thank you, Emily !!
Everything you make is perfection! I can’t wait to try this!
Thank you so much Melissa !
This looks so delicious and I always love watching your videos, ChihYu! What a great technique- I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t actually know what it was. Now I do 🙂
Thanks so much, Jessica !
This looks so good! I love your recipes <3
Thank you, Cristina !
Thanks for the great tip for cooking chicken. I tried it last night, and it was awesome! So juicy.
Thank you Katja ! So happy you like it !
Yes to the no hoisin sauce, and I can’t wait to try your chicken method, I usually just stir fry mine straight up, but yours is much more authentic!
Thank you, Kari !
I wish I could reach into the screen and grab this because it looks amazing! I love Cashew chicken and your version looks stellar.
Thank you, Kelly !
Love cashew nuts! This sounds easy and yum – my fave combo!
Ooo I love your chicken tender method! I can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I never cooked with harissa chili paste, but I definitely want to try it out now. What a gorgeous dish!
The cashews, chili paste and ginger are calling my name!! Such a yummy but easy dinner for the win! 🙂
Would the velveting technique work with a steamed chicken and veggies recipe? I love steamed chicken and veggies from Chinese restaurants, and I haven’t figured out how to perfect it.
Hi Christie, thanks for reaching out. I’ve never tried it but my gut feeling telling me steamed the chicken and veggies probably will not work for this cooking method. Let me know how it goes. 🙂