Thai Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (Pad Med Mamuang)

400g chicken breast, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

80g unsalted cashew nuts, lightly toasted

½ onion, cut into chunky wedges

½ red pepper, cut into chunky pieces

1 Chinese cabbage leaf, sliced

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 dried red chillies

1–2 bird's eye chillies, sliced (to taste)

2 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths

The Marinade

½ tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour

The Sauce

1 tablespoon soft brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

100ml chicken stock

PREPARATION

1. Thinly slice the chicken breast and mix with the light soy sauce and cornflour until evenly coated. Leave to marinate while you prepare the vegetables. Toast the cashew nuts in a dry wok or frying pan for 1–2 minutes, until lightly golden. Cut the onion and pepper into chunky pieces, slice the Chinese cabbage, roughly chop the garlic, slice the bird's eye chillies and cut the spring onions into 5cm lengths. Mix together the brown sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup and tamarind concentrate to make the stir-fry sauce.

COOKING

2. Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.

4. Add the chicken in a single layer and allow it to sear briefly before turning. Cook until lightly browned but not fully cooked, then remove from the wok.

5. Add the remaining vegetable oil.

6. Stir-fry the onion and pepper until lightly blistered.

7. Add the garlic, dried chillies, bird's eye chillies, spring onions and Chinese cabbage, tossing quickly until fragrant.

8. Return the chicken and toasted cashew nuts to the wok.

9. Pour in the prepared stir-fry sauce and allow it to caramelise briefly over the high heat.

10. Add the chicken stock and toss continuously until the sauce reduces to a glossy glaze that coats the chicken.

11. Continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked through.

12. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

School of Wok Tips

 Toast the cashew nuts before stir-frying to enhance their flavour and keep them crunchy.

 Sear the chicken first, then remove it while cooking the vegetables to prevent it from overcooking.

 Let the sauce caramelise briefly before adding the stock to build deeper flavour.

 The finished dish should have a glossy coating on the chicken rather than a pool of sauce at the bottom of the wok.

FAQs

What does Pad Med Mamuang mean?

"Pad" means stir-fried and "Med Mamuang" means cashew nuts in Thai, making this literally "Thai stir-fried cashew chicken"

Can I make it less spicy?

Yes. Reduce or omit the bird's eye chillies and dried chillies to create a milder version.

What makes this different from Chinese cashew chicken?

Thai versions use fish sauce and tamarind alongside oyster sauce and ketchup, giving the dish a sweeter, tangier flavour with a distinctly Thai character.