A Chinese-American stir-fry of diced chicken and toasted cashews in a light savory sauce, usually with vegetables like onion, celery or bell pepper. A Springfield, Missouri version — battered and deep-fried chicken in a brown oyster-soy gravy with cashews and green onion — is a distinct regional style.
The stir-fried style descends from Cantonese diced-chicken-and-nut dishes adapted in American Chinese kitchens through the mid-20th century. The deep-fried Springfield version has a documented origin: cook David Leong, a Cantonese immigrant, created 'Springfield-style cashew chicken' in Springfield, Missouri in the early 1960s, blending Chinese stir-fry with the fried-chicken tastes of the Ozarks. It became so popular that the dish is a local signature across that region.
The chicken is tender and juicy, the cashews buttery and toasty with a firm crunch against the soft meat. The sauce is savory and lightly sweet, just enough to coat without drowning the nuts. In the Springfield style the chicken wears a crisp fried crust under a glossy brown gravy, with green onion cutting the richness.
Cashews are toasted or fried separately and added late so they stay crunchy instead of going soft in the sauce. The chicken is cut into even cubes and either velveted for the stir-fry or battered and deep-fried for the Springfield style; both methods seal the surface so the meat stays moist. The sauce is kept light and bound with a little cornstarch so it glazes the chicken and clings to the nuts without turning gummy.
Variations
The light stir-fry adds celery, water chestnut, snow peas or bell pepper and sometimes hoisin for sweetness. The Springfield style is its own school — deep-fried chicken, brown oyster-soy gravy, cashews and green onion over rice — and many cooks split the difference with pan-fried chicken in a slightly thicker sauce.
On the Palate
Where Cashew Chicken sits in the American-Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 3
How it's made
6 steps · 27 min active + 8 min waiting
- 112 min
Cut the chicken into even bite-size cubes and marinate with soy sauce, a little cornstarch and oil; set aside while you prep everything else.
Watch outCut even cubes so the chicken cooks at the same rate.
- 24 min
Toast the raw cashews in a dry wok or a little oil over medium heat until golden and fragrant, then remove so they stay crunchy.
Watch outCashews burn fast — pull them the moment they turn golden.
- 35 min
Heat the wok hot with oil and stir-fry the chicken over high heat until just cooked through and lightly golden; remove and set aside.
Watch outDon't overcook — the chicken finishes in the sauce later.
- 43 min
Stir-fry the garlic, ginger and diced vegetables for a minute, then pour in the sauce of soy, oyster sauce and a little sugar with water and bring to a simmer.
Watch outKeep the vegetables crisp-tender, not soft.
- 52 min
Return the chicken, stir in a cornstarch slurry to glaze the sauce, then fold in the toasted cashews and green onion off the heat.
Watch outAdd the cashews last so they don't soften in the sauce.
- 61 min
Serve immediately over steamed rice.
Watch outServe right away while the cashews are still crunchy.
