Springfield Style Cashew Chicken
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch divided
- 2 cups peanut oil for frying
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion for topping
- 2 cups cashew halves
- Carbohydrate 55.6987267160162 g
- Cholesterol 653.663333333333 mg
- Fat 148.853446667523 g
- Fiber 3.90780002684317 g
- Protein 129.136033342848 g
- Saturated Fat 61.965631777904 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (846g)
- Sodium 1560.94222290684 mg
- Sugar 51.790926689173 g
- Trans Fat 11.5635604447728 g
- Calories 2080 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch. In another dish or bowl beat the eggs. Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture, then eggs, then flour mixture again. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet and deep fry coated chicken in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Meanwhile (while frying chicken), heat broth to boiling in a medium saucepan. Add oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and white pepper. Mix remaining 4 tablespoons cornstarch with a small amount of cold water in a cup. Stir cornstarch mixture slowly into broth mixture to thicken, then cook for another 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Heat cashew nuts and chopped green onions in preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over fried chicken and top with cashews and green onion. Serve with soy sauce to taste over a bed of fried rice, if desired.
Baking soda does the heaviest lifting in the dry coating mix by raising the pH of the flour, which accelerates browning and tenderizes the protein fibers during deep frying. Maintaining the peanut oil between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit ensures the double-dip breading layer sets instantly without absorbing excess grease. Originating in Missouri mid-century adaptation of Cantonese cuisine, this style trades traditional wok-tossed stir-frying for a crisp, nuggets-and-gravy presentation.
Sauce thickening relies on gelatinizing starch molecules properly. Whisking the cornstarch slurry into the boiling chicken broth and simmering for precisely 5 minutes removes any raw, starchy taste while yielding a glossy, clingy viscosity that will not instantly break down upon contact with hot poultry. Because fried foods suffer structural degradation from moisture migration, freezing the coated chicken pieces un-sauced on a sheet pan for 2 hours before transferring them to a freezer bag preserves their textural integrity for up to 3 months.
Reheating requires dry heat to restore the crunch of the crust rather than a microwave, which turns starched breading rubbery. Place frozen or thawed chicken pieces on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes until sizzling. Ladle the freshly warmed oyster-infused sauce over the meat immediately before serving to prevent the fried crust from turning soggy.
