Food

Chinese Almond Chicken

Chinese-Almond-chicken

Sometimes all you need is a hearty, quick fix meal that satisfies all your cravings. And my idea of these easy quick fix meals somehow is always Chinese food. Be it at a restaurant or homemade it’s always satisfying and you get everything in one – the protein, vegetables and nuts! Coincidentally my favourite Chinese food includes dishes with nuts be it the Kung Pao Chicken or this Almond Chicken

I make sure to include a Chinese dish or a stir-fry on the weekly menu. It is to add variety and more veggies in our meals. I had some left-over blanched almonds at hand and decided to used them for this Chinese Almond Chicken recipe. It turned out to be a delicious decision.

Almond-chicken

Almond Chicken is a favourite dish of most. I remember as a family whenever we went out for dinner to a Chinese restaurant we always ordered Almond Chicken along with Chicken Manchurian of course.

Chinese Almond Chicken Recipe

Chicken and nuts are just perfect together, whether its Kung Pao Chicken or Chicken with cashew nuts, no other type of protein pairs so well with different types of nuts like chicken. Almond Chicken is another winner recipe that pairs the two ingredients and the addition of vegetables takes it to another level.

The flavours and textures in this dish are deliciously amazing. Stir-fry chicken with loads of colourful vegetables and toasted almond, all in a light savoury sauce, is what makes it addictively delicious – and it comes together in just 30 minutes!

The best thing about this dish is that you can use any vegetables of choice. I used the ones I had – carrots, onion, bell pepper, sweet corn and snow peas. So use any vegetables your family likes.

You can even add your choice of protein. I prefer it with chicken and used chicken breast in this recipe, you can use thighs too. The toasted almonds give a nice texture and crunch to the dish. Every bite is accompanied by chicken, vegetables and crunchy almonds. The sauce is prepared with a few ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.

Almond Chicken Ingredients

As this recipe is a quick stir fry, the ingredients are simple and the recipe is easily customizable. Detailed instructions and measurements are in the recipe card below.

  • Meat: Chicken is my preferred meat for this recipe. I used chicken breast, you can also use chicken thighs. This recipe can easily be made with beef too.
  • Veggies: Anything you have at hand can go in the recipe. I used carrots, onions, bell peppers, sweet corn and snow peas.
  • Nuts: Blanched and toasted almonds add a perfect crunch to the dish
  • The Sauce: the light savoury sauce is made with chicken broth (stock), soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, crushed black pepper and thickened with cornflour.
Almond-chicken-Chinese

It is a great dish for a weeknight dinner as it involves less cooking time so you can easily relax and do other things. It so filling and delicious, a winning crowd-pleaser dish to serve at lunch or dinner.

Serve it with steamed rice, garlic rice or any rice you like. Weight-watchers can have it with quinoa, brown rice or even cauliflower rice – it tastes equally amazing.

Try this recipe for Chinese Almond Chicken tonight and I promise you’d love it and your kids would love it too. And if you’re into leftover meals as lunch, it tastes even better the next day.

More Chinese Recipes

Chinese Almond Chicken

Almond Chicken is packed with delicious flavours. This stir fry of tender chicken, bright and colourful vegetables and crispy almonds in a light savoury sauce, is addictively delicious. 
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Keyword: Almond Chicken, Chinese
Servings: 4
Calories: 357kcal
Author: Hirra Pervaiz

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 2 Chicken Breast Fillet (cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp White Pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 Egg White
  • 2 tbsp Cornflour
  • 3 tbsp Oil (for stir frying)

For the Vegetables

  • 1/2 cup Carrots (sliced)
  • 1/2 cup Baby Corn (cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 1 medium Onion (diced)
  • 1/2 Bell pepper (diced)
  • 1/2 cup Snow peas
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 Green Chilies
  • 1/3 cup Almonds (blanched )

For the Sauce

  • 1 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 tbsp White Pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp Black Pepper (crushed)
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
  • 1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Cornflour

Instructions

  • In a bowl add chicken, salt, white pepper, sesame oil, egg white and corn flour. Mix together so that chicken is well coated. Set aside
  • In a bowl mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside
  • In a small pan add 1 tbsp oil and fry the almonds. Keep stirring not to burn. Keep aside.
  • In a pan or wok heat oil on medium-high heat. Add the chicken and stir fry until it turns white.  Don’t overcrowd the wok. Remove chicken from pan onto on a plate. 
  • In the same pan or wok add 1 tbsp oil (if needed) add in the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Now add all the vegetables and stir fry until crisp and tender. 
  • Now add chicken to the pan along with the sauce. Mix it all together and bring it to a boil. Let simmer until the sauce thickens.
  • To thicken the sauce add cornflour slurry (2 tbsp cornflour mixed with water) to the pan to desired consistency.
  • As soon as the sauce thickens, dish and add toasted almonds. 
  • Serve immediately with steamed or garlic rice

Notes

  1. If the sauce gets too thick add a bit water to achieve desired consistency
  2. For Weight Watcher: for chicken skip the cornflour and egg white and stir fry chicken seasoned with salt and white pepper
  3. To thicken the gravy replace cornflour with oatmeal

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24 Comments

  • cait

    im always searching for new chicken recipes and i love the idea of having this chinese almond one to make this week YUM!

    Reply
  • Arun Dahiya

    It’s look so good and delicious. Thank you for this amazing recipe. My family would be interested in trying it I guess. Didn’t know about the oatmeal trick. Will check that out.

    Reply
  • Huda

    As crazy as it sounds, ive never tried a chinese dish. This looks absolutely delicious and fairly easy to make!

    Reply
  • Ritu Sharma

    This looks yummmy! I don’t cook because I’m not used to it, but this recipe looks delicious and healthy!

    Reply
  • The Nail Trip

    Holii!
    Reading your post, I went to consult the menu of my favorite Chinese restaurant, and it turns out that it does not have it on their menu. I’m going to print your recipe, because I love Chinese food.
    Good day!!

    Reply
  • jessa b.

    guess what I’m cooking for the husband tonight? Chinese almond chicken it is! Thanks for the recipe sweetie!

    Reply
  • Bree

    My kids really loved this so this is for sure a weekly recipe in our home now! So yummy!

    Reply
  • Genny Gall

    We are really a fan of Chinese food, and this dish will be our new try

    Reply
  • adriana

    WOW. this sounds so delicious. I could never master making a chinese dish at home.

    Reply
  • Michael

    I love how the photo you used slowly go nearer and nearer lol Felt like eating it already, Lunch time here lol so lets eat!

    Reply
  • Alexandra Cook

    Wow, I have never tried this recipe looks really delicious and easy. I will try to make this for my kids, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Sania Ahmed

    What will be the alternate of white pepper? Would love to try this recipe.

    Reply
  • Czjai Reyes-Ocampo

    Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve been wanting to replicate this ever since I tried one at a restaurant in Hong Kong. 🙂

    Reply
  • Roamy

    This looks really appetizing, although I can not cook chinese, will have to try this out following your tips.Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
  • Ashli Ferguson

    GOODNESS this looks delicious!! I want to try this now!

    Reply
  • HilLesha

    This dish looks amazingly delicious! While I don’t eat meat, I know that my oldest son would love this recipe.

    Reply
  • Angela Ricardo

    I do like to order Chinese food and that Almond Chicken sounds really flavorful and delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe!

    Reply
  • Dr. K. Lee Banks

    Oh, this looks delicious! I have all the ingredients on hand, so I MUST make this! I’ve already saved the recipe to print out.

    Reply
  • Sudipa

    We are always on the lookout for a nice chicken dish.This one sounds easy-peasy and looks delicious too.I will try it for sure

    Reply
  • aisasami

    This looks amazing, I might have to try to make this tomorrow!

    Reply
  • Danang Sutani

    It looks like it’s very tasty, maybe I want to try this recipe at home.. ?

    Reply
  • Kalyan Panja

    Thanks for sharing this recipe. I would love to prepare it.

    Reply
  • Danang Sutani

    Looks very delicious, thank you for the recipe I will try it soon ..

    Reply
  • Nishant Singh

    Thanks For Share This Recipe.

    Reply

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