Almond Chicken
intro
Crispy tender chicken tossed in a glossy savory-sweet sauce with crunchy toasted almonds, a beloved Chinese-American takeout favorite made easy at home.
Ingredients
Steps
Toast the almonds
Heat a dry small skillet over medium-low heat (150°C/300°F pan surface). Add 80g sliced raw almonds, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2–3 minutes until light golden and nutty fragrant. Immediately pour almonds onto a cool plate to stop the cooking process, set aside.
Coat the chicken
Pat 450g cubed chicken completely dry with paper towels. Toss in a mixing bowl with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp ground white pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder, let rest 5 minutes to marinate. Toss marinated chicken in a mix of 2.5 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp all-purpose flour until lightly dusted, dip fully in beaten eggs, then toss in the remaining 2.5 tbsp cornstarch until every cube is evenly coated. Set coated chicken on a wire rack for 5 minutes to let the coating set.
Pan-fry the chicken
Heat 120ml neutral canola oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat until oil reaches 175°C/350°F. Working in 2 even batches to avoid crowding the pan, add coated chicken cubes in a single layer, frying 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74°C/165°F. Use a slotted spoon to transfer fried chicken to a clean wire rack to drain excess oil, repeat with the second batch.
Make the sauce
Pour off all but 1 tsp of remaining frying oil from the skillet, return to medium-low heat. Whisk together 120ml low-sodium chicken broth, remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, remaining 1/2 tsp garlic powder, remaining 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, and reserved 1 tbsp cornstarch until fully smooth to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the skillet, stirring constantly for 1–2 minutes until sauce thickens to a glossy consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
Toss all ingredients
Add fried chicken cubes and two-thirds of the toasted almonds to the skillet with thickened sauce. Toss continuously over low heat for 1 minute until every chicken cube is evenly coated in glossy sauce, taking care not to scrape or break the crispy chicken coating.
Plate and garnish
Transfer sauced almond chicken to a serving platter, top with the remaining toasted almonds and 2 tbsp sliced green onion. Serve immediately while the chicken is hot and crispy, paired with steamed white rice if desired.
Tips
2.Avoid overcrowding the skillet when frying: too many chicken pieces drop the oil temperature rapidly, leading to greasy, unevenly cooked chicken. Frying in 2 small batches yields the crispiest results.
3.Monitor almonds closely while toasting: they transition from perfectly golden and fragrant to burnt in under 60 seconds once hot, so stir constantly and transfer to a cool plate as soon as they are done.
OMG this was SO good! I’ve been chasing the takeout almond chicken taste from my local spot for years and this nailed it. 30 minutes total cook time? Total game changer for weeknight family dinners, my two kids devoured it and asked for seconds before they even finished their first plate. The crust stayed crispy even after I tossed it with the sauce, no soggy mess at all! 10/10 will be making this biweekly.
Really solid recipe! I was worried it’d be too fussy for a weeknight but it was genuinely easy, even for someone who burns rice half the time. I added a tiny extra splash of soy sauce to the glaze because I like things saltier, and it turned out great. Only tiny note is I wish the almond flavor popped a little more, I might toss in a drop of almond extract next time. Perfect for when I don’t want to drop $20 on takeout.
Made this for my office potluck earlier this week and people were lined up for seconds! I was worried the chicken would get soggy sitting in the crockpot insert I brought it in, but the crispy coating held up for almost two hours. Everyone was asking for the recipe, I must have shared this link 8 times. So easy to scale up for a crowd too!
Perfect for meal prep! I made a big batch on Sunday, portioned it out with rice and steamed broccoli, and it reheated way better than I thought it would. I was scared the crust would turn mushy in the microwave, but if you heat it on a plate for 2 minutes it’s still got that crunch. This is going into my regular weekly rotation for sure.
Tasty! I didn’t have any whole almonds on hand so I used almond flour for the coating and sliced almonds on top, and it still came out great. Quick question — can I bake this instead of frying it to cut down on oil? I try to avoid deep frying when I can, but I don’t want to lose that crispiness.
This tastes exactly like the almond chicken my grandma used to order at the old Cantonese diner in our town when I was a kid! I got so nostalgic taking the first bite, I almost called her to tell her I found the recipe. The texture is perfect, the sauce is sweet and savory without being cloying, absolute perfection.