I grew up in South East Kansas, that means Chinese food was all about the Springfield Style Cashew Chicken! Back then though, I just thought it was what Cashew Chicken was. This delicious dish was (and still is) readily and easily available at nearly every single Chinese style restaurant and buffet in the Four States area. It wasn’t until I moved north that I realized this favorite dish of mine was regional and I would no longer be able to pick it up at ANY local Chinese place.

This deep fried chicken with cashew sauce with rice and cashew nuts was actually developed in Springfield, Missouri. Which is why once I moved north of Kansas City this dish was no longer readily available to me. I have seen it at one restaurant in Grand Island, Nebraska… but I wouldn’t hold my breath at finding it at other places outside it’s origin region.

Coming to the conclusion that I no longer could find my all time favorite dish of Cashew Chicken anywhere near me I realized I’d have to learn to cook it. There is a company that makes a powdered cashew chicken sauce (Springfield style), however it is only available at grocery stores in that region, not online.

Surprisingly enough, there are some recipes available online for it! I began trying these recipes every chance I could. The sauce somehow wasn’t exactly what I wanted though, some recipes got close, but none of them gave me that restaurant feel. So, I set out to make my own sauce recipe and have perfected it to the point that I almost prefer it to restaurant style. Almost.

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Springfield Style Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 C. Flour
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
3 Eggs
3 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. black pepper
Oil for cooking
2 C. Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
 1 ½ Tbsp. Sugar
½ tsp. salt
A little cold water
Cashew halves
Jasmine rice, cooked

Instructions:

1. Heat about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Cut chicken into bite size cubes, about 1 inch.
3. Mix flour, 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, paprika, half of the garlic, and half of the black pepper in a large bowl. Crack and beat eggs in another bowl.
4. Coat chicken the beaten egg, then toss in flour mixture again until well coated.
5. Place coated chicken into hot oil turn once when golden brown, cook until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Should be cooked thoroughly.
6. In a medium saucepan bring chicken broth to a boil. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, remaining black pepper, and remaining garlic and bring back to a boil. Stirring frequently.
7. In a separate cup add a little cold water to 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, just enough to make it a liquid, stir well. Slowly (sometimes one drop at a time) add cornstarch to sauce until it reaches consistency close to gravy.
8. Serve fried chicken on top of a plate of rice and pour the sauce over.
9. Top with cashews and green onions if desired.

Tips:

• Top with green onions, chopped thin for a little more bite!
• I’ve also made this with baked breaded chicken (Shake and Bake style to keep that crunch) and unbreaded when I don’t feel like deep frying. While it’s not quite the same as the Chinese style cashew chicken it still tastes amazing, so much flavor in that sauce, just a little different and doesn’t have all the oil!

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