Chinese Cashew Chicken MEATBALLS!

Name: Chinese Cashew Chicken MEATBALLS!
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 serving
Ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce, ordinary or light; 1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine; 1/4 cup oyster sauce; 2 tsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch; 500g/1lb chicken mince (ground chicken); 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 egg, small; 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp white pepper (or sub with black); 2 tbsp peanut oil; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1 small onion, sliced; 1 green capsicum / bell pepper, chopped into 1.75cm / 2/3"; 3/4 cup water; 1 cup cashews, unsalted

User Reviews

5.0

63 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings
4
Calories
615 kcal
Cuisine
Asian, Chinese

Chinese Cashew Chicken MEATBALLS!

Nicole Snyder

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Everything you know and love about Chinese Cashew Chicken - made with meatballs! Recipe video below.

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Ingredients

Servings

Sauce - Part 1:

1/4 cup soy sauce, ordinary or light (Note 1)
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine (shaoshing wine, or sub with dry sherry) (Note 4)
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Sauce - Part 2:

1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch

Meatballs:

500g/1lb chicken mince (ground chicken)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, small (Note 2)
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper (or sub with black)

Stir Fry:

2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 green capsicum / bell pepper, chopped into 1.75cm / 2/3"
3/4 cup water
1 cup cashews, unsalted

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Instructions

Place Sauce Part 1 ingredients in a jar and shake well. Place 2 tsp Sauce into a large bowl that you will be making the Meatballs in. Then add the cornflour into the Sauce jar and shake. Set Sauce aside.
Add remaining Meatballs ingredients into the bowl. Mix until just combined.
Measure out a heaped tablespoon of mixture and dollop onto a work surface. Then roll into balls (see Note 2 if mixture is too loose / sticky to form into balls).
Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add meatballs and cook, browning as best you can all over, or at least on both sides. Once browned all over (about 4 minutes), carefully transfer onto a plate. They will still be a bit raw inside.
Return skillet to the stove, still on medium high. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add capsicum and cook for 1 minute. Add Sauce and water and quickly mix - it will simmer quickly.
Transfer meatballs (and juices on the plate) into the Sauce. Turn heat down to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 - 4 minutes, or until the Sauce reduces and thickens (by which time the meatballs will be cooked).
Stir through cashews, serve over rice!

Notes

I make this with ordinary or light soy sauce. Do not use dark soy sauce or sweet soy sauce or kecap manis, it will change the flavour too much.
If you find that the meatballs are a bit too wet, which can happen if the chicken is purchased at supermarkets and is vac packed (or if the egg you used is large), you can either refrigerate the meat mixture for 30 minutes (this firms it up, making it easier to handle) or add a bit more breadcrumbs. Don't add too much, it will make the meatballs tough! Also, the other tip is to wet your hands lightly when rolling.
Chicken mince is wetter and softer than other meats so don't fret if you don't end up with perfect rounds - mine certainly aren't!
For all my other meatballs made with meat other than chicken, I always start with a mixture of fresh bread soaked with grated onion because it makes them super soft and adds extra flavour. The reason I don't do this with chicken is because it makes the meat too wet and loose, making it hard to form into balls (refer note 2 above). However, these meatballs are cooked faster than other meatball recipes, so as to ensure they are kept nice and juicy!
Chinese cooking wine is a key ingredient in Chinese cooking so I really urge you to find it or use dry sherry as a sub. Or even Sake or Mirin as a fall back. However, if you are unable to consume alcohol in any form, then just leave this out and instead of adding 3/4 cup of water, add chicken broth/stock instead.
This is also fantastic made with turkey or pork!
Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. 1/3 of the calories is from the cashews so if you want to reduce the calorie count, sacrifice the cashews!