Go Back
+ servings
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken restaurant style

Instant Pot Cashew Chicken

Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is better than your regular Asian take-out food. This Pressure cooker cashew chicken gets ready in a jiffy, has the best sauce ever with juicy tender chicken & shallow golden fried cashews. Tastes so yum with Jasmine rice or noodles.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American-Chinese, Chinese
Keyword: Asian Take-out style Cashew Chicken, Cashew Chicken Recipe, How to make Cashew Chicken in Instant Pot, Instant Pot Cashew Chicken, Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 787kcal
Author: Meghna
Cost: $4

Ingredients

For the Sauce

For Flash marinating the chicken (Optional step)

Thickener (Cornstarch Slurry)

Liquid

  • ¼ cup water

Instructions

  • Flash marinate the cubed chicken pieces with light soy sauce and sesame oil. This step is totally optional. It gives the chicken a nice color and kind of works like velveting the chicken.
  • Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE and set it on NORMAL. Add 2 tbsp oil and when the oil becomes moderately hot gently release the whole raw cashews and shallow fry them until nicely golden in color. Stir the cashews often while frying them. Set the golden fried cashews aside.
  • Now, add the rest of the oil and saute the flash marinated chicken pieces until they are lightly golden around the edges. Add the red pepper flakes half way through while sauteing the chicken.
  • Next, CANCEL the SAUTE function and add the water to the pot. De-glaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of your spatula. This will help to prevent the BURN error. There should not be any bits and crumbs stuck at the bottom of the pot.
  • Close the lid of the Instant Pot and seal the Valve. PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 1 min in case of organic farm fresh chicken or 3 mins in case of regular chicken.
  • Once the pressure cooking cycle is over the Instant Pot will begin to beep. Immediately do a QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE manually by moving the valve from the SEALING to the VENTING position. Open the lid carefully when the metal pin on the lid drops.
  • CANCEL the Pressure cook function and set the Instant Pot back to SAUTE function and keep it on LOW.
  • Add all the sauce ingredients like Hoisin, Sriracha, Dark Soy, Light Soy, Rice Vinegar and also the cornstarch slurry (the thickener). If you prefer a sweet sauce add 2 tbsp brown sugar now (I didn't add any). Give everything a good stir and simmer until the sauce thickens. The simmering time totally depends on how thick or how thin you want the sauce to be. I simmered the sauce for about 2-3 mins approximately. We prefer a thick sauce.
  • When the sauce reaches the consistency that you prefer add back the golden fried cashews and the Chinese dry red chilies. Give everything a good stir and enjoy with some Jasmine rice or noodles. The sauce will thicken further as the dish cools down. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  1. Measuring Units Used, 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
  2. Sauce Consistency: Cashew Chicken tastes best in a thick sauce that beautifully coats each chicken piece. However, if you prefer a slightly thinner sauce simmer down the sauce less and stop when you reach the right consistency. 
  3. For Sweet and Savory Sauce: Today's recipe results in a savory sauce. However, if you prefer a sweet and savory sauce add 2 tbsp brown sugar with all other sauce ingredients and cook down the sauce.
  4. Chinese dry whole red chilies: You can buy them from any Asian grocery store ore even order from Amazon. They add a slight zing to the recipe wihout making it spicy and also makes the dish aesthetically beautiful. If you can't find them skip suing them.
  5. Raw whole cashews: These are the star ingredient of todays recipe. Do not use the store bought roasted and salted cashews. If you cannot manage to find the raw cashews do use store bought roasted unsalted cashews. The cashews add a crispy bite, a whole lot of nuttiness to this amazing dish. And the best flavor is acheived from raw cashews.
  6. Chicken cooking time: Organic farm fresh boneless skinless chicken breats or thighs = 1 mins HIGH PRESSURE/QPR and Regular Chicken = 3 mins HIGH PRESSURE/QPR.
  7. Red Pepper Flakes: Adds a slight zing to the recipe. Skip using them if you are totally heat intolerant.
  8. Doubling the recipe: The cook time will remain the same even if you double the recipe.
  9. Storing Tips: The Instant Pot Cashew Chicken lasts for 5 days in the refrigerator when kept in moisture free air tight contaner.
  10. Freezing Instruction: Freeze the dish in individual portion size freezer safe bags for upto 1 month. Avoid the Chinese dry red chilies. Thaw over night in the fridge and re-heat in the microwave oven. The cashews will become softer.
 
Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only.
 
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 787 Calories from Fat 459
% Daily Value*
Fat 51g78%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 145mg48%
Sodium 3102mg135%
Potassium 1190mg34%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 59g118%
Vitamin A 696IU14%
Vitamin C 8mg10%
Calcium 29mg3%
Iron 4mg22%
* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
 
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 787kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 3102mg | Potassium: 1190mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 696IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 4mg