Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry

5 from 10 votes

This Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry is a Cantonese dish and an all-time favorite. Staying true to Cantonese cuisine, its flavor is mild and delicate––the shrimp are plump and crisp, and the cashews are crunchy and nutty.

Prep Time2 30

Cook Time5

Total Time2 35

Course: Fish & Seafood

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: servings

Calories: 262kcal

Author: Judy

Ingredients

8 oz. medium shrimp (225g, peeled and deveined)
1 1/4 teaspoon sugar (divided)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and white pepper
4 stalks celery (sliced at a 45 degree angle)
1/2 red bell pepper (sliced)
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
2 slices ginger (minced)
1 scallion (chopped)
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
3/4 cup cashews (roasted; see note)

Instructions

First, prepare the shrimp. Toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon sugar, baking soda, and 1/4 cup water, gently mixing everything together for a couple minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours and then rinse under cold running water for 5 minutes to wash away any sugar and baking soda. Pat the shrimp dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Marinate the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pinch of white pepper and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Now, since the dish comes together very quickly, and you want to avoid overcooking the shrimp, it's time to blanch the celery and red bell pepper. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the celery and red bell pepper in. After 30 seconds, drain the vegetables and shock them in ice water. Drain completely and set aside.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the minced ginger and chopped scallion and cook for 1 minute. Then turn up the heat to high and add the shrimp. Once the shrimp have just begun to turn pink, add the blanched celery and red bell pepper, along with the last 1/4 teaspoon sugar, the oyster sauce, and the cashews. Mix everything well, and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve.

Notes

Note: It's ideal to use roasted cashews for this recipe, but I only had raw cashews, so I just wok-roasted them for about 10 minutes. I’ve learned that cashews burn easily, so when roasting, start with a cold wok and medium low heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and then the cashews. Toast the cashews for about 10 minutes, stirring often and taking care not to burn them. Then spread them out and let cool until they're ready to go into the dish.

Nutrition

Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/cashew-shrimp-stir-fry/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-32093":{"type":"food","name":"Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry","slug":"wprm-cashew-shrimp-stir-fry","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shrimp-cashews-9-1.jpg","rating":{"count":10,"total":50,"average":5,"type":{"comment":10,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","name":"medium shrimp","notes":"(225g, peeled and deveined)","id":2005,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":0,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"amount":"1 1\/4","unit":"teaspoon","name":"sugar","notes":"(divided)","id":273,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 1\/4","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":1,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 1\/4","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","name":"baking soda","notes":"","id":264,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":2,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","name":"water","notes":"","id":332,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":3,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"sesame oil","notes":"","id":266,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":4,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"cornstarch","notes":"","id":267,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":5,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"","unit":"","name":"salt and white pepper","notes":"","id":2545,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":6,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"4","unit":"stalks","name":"celery","notes":"(sliced at a 45 degree angle)","id":1028,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"stalks","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":7,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"stalks","unitParsed":"stalks"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","name":"red bell pepper","notes":"(sliced)","id":1431,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":8,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"oil","notes":"","id":268,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":9,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"amount":"2","unit":"slices","name":"ginger","notes":"(minced)","id":456,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"slices","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":10,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"slices","unitParsed":"slices"}}},{"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"scallion","notes":"(chopped)","id":446,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":11,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"2","unit":"teaspoons","name":"oyster sauce","notes":"","id":412,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"teaspoons","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":12,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","name":"cashews","notes":"(roasted; see note)","id":1821,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774159907000},"type":"ingredient","uid":13,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}