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Chicken and Nut Stir-fry

A stir-fry of chicken, cashews, broccoli, onions, and soy sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Chicken and Nut Stir-fry

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Put chicken in medium bowl with soy sauce, cooking sherry, salt and garlic; let stand for 10 minutes.

  2. Cut broccoli tops into florets and stems into 2" strips; set aside.

  3. In large skillet, heat oil until hot.

Stir-fry and thicken

  1. Add chicken mixture to skillet.

  2. Stir-fry until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes, adding cashews for last minute.

  3. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon draining as much oil as possible.

  4. Add onions and broccoli.

  5. Stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.

  6. Combine cornstarch and broth.

  7. Add to vegetables.

  8. Cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

  9. Add cashews and reserved chicken.

  10. Cook and stir 1 minute longer.

Serve

  1. Serve over steamed rice, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1033Calories
55 gProtein
31 gFat
127 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Cashew1 oz (28g / ~18 nuts)157
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + broccolitop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,072 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provides the main protein, which browns lightly and stays tender when cooked briefly over high heat.
Cornstarch
Thickens the broth into a glossy sauce that coats the vegetables and chicken.
Broccoli
Adds bulk and a crisp-tender texture that holds up to quick stir-frying.
Onions
Add sweetness and aroma as they soften slightly in the hot oil.
Cashews
Add crunch and a toasted, nutty flavor when added at the end.

The step that matters

Draining the chicken well before adding vegetables. Excess oil left in the skillet dilutes the sauce and makes the vegetables greasy rather than crisp-tender. Removing the chicken with a slotted spoon keeps the sauce from thinning and lets the vegetables sear instead of steam.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, onion, sauce, sherry, garlic, broccoli):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Cuminfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, sauce, sherry, garlic, broccoli. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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