Spicy Garlic Cashew Chicken

By KSmitherman

Ingredients

• 1 cup roasted (salted or unsalted) cashew nuts
• 6 Tbsp roughly chopped cilantro (leaves and stems)
• 1/4 cup grapeseed or olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free for gluten-free version)
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, stems and most seeds discarded, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 55mins
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a food processor or blender, add the cashews, cilantro, oil, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, jalapeno, lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse or blend until the mixture is a smooth paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reserve a third of the marinade for serving with the chicken. Use the rest for coating the chicken.

Sprinkle the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken pieces with the marinade. At this point if you want, you can make ahead, and chill for several hours or overnight until ready to cook. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat broiler or prepare grill for medium direct heat. Broil or grill chicken, turning frequently, until golden and crisp and a meat thermometer reads 170°F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching a bone), or when the juices run clear (not pink) when cut into with a knife. This will take about 25 to 35 minutes for a grill on medium heat, or about 10-20 minutes under a broiler, depending on how far the chicken is from the heat. Serve with lime wedges, reserved marinade, and cilantro.

Almost all of these bake/broil type meals can be made in a convection toaster oven without heating up the kitchen. The hot air blowing over the food gives it a nice crisp texture on the outside, and seals in the juice on the inside. This dish would be great in one. Be careful with the pepper not to breathe the fumes, or touch your eyes while using.

I made this recipe last night and both my husband and I loved it! I used boneless skinless chicken breast and threw them on the bbq. They turned out fantastic! The flavors in the marinade were perfect..no need for salt or pepper. I served it with a chilled cucumber salad (just white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper) which was a great balance for the heat of the jalapenos.

This was fantastic! I tried to make it a bit healthier by using skinless chicken breasts. Broiled them on a cookie sheet as I was worried about the paste falling through the grill (or standard broiler pan), about 10 minutes per side. So much flavor, this one is indeed a keeper. Quite possibly the best chicken breasts I've ever had.

This was wonderful! Both of us loved it. I reserved some of the marinade as suggested, but next time - and there WILL be a next time - I will put all of it on the chicken. I used canned jalapenos with seeds, not fresh. A couple of days later, I had some of the leftovers with some leftover pasta that I heated up in a skillet with a little olive oil and the marinade was wonderful with that, too. Almost like a pesto sauce.

Made this last night and it was wonderful! I used walnuts insead of cashews and made a paste with a mortar & pestle insead of blending. Fantastic! Thank you Elise! Keep them coming!


We made this last night, using the sauce on a grilled pork tenderloin and then tossing some of the extra sauce with egg noodles and a little of the cooking water to make a pasta salad to go along with it. It was so good!