This spicy Thai-inspired Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry is super simple and quick to whip up with loads of flavour and textures!
The humble Mr Pumpkin
It’s nearing the end of October and you’re probably up to your eyeballs with pumpkin-based recipes as it’s trending everywhere right now. But, if you’re like me and have truckloads of pumpkin to consume, then these recipes are welcoming!
I mentioned in my Pumpkin Hummus with Prawns and Za’atar post; I bought two massive pumpkins because they were on sale. This means the next 10 posts will be on pumpkins. Just Kidding! As much as I love pumpkins, I won’t bore you with them. However, I believe that my family and I may turn orange soon from all the pumpkin consumption!
When I first started this blog, I posted my Thai-inspired Chicken and Pumpkin Stir Fry. It pleasantly surprised me how popular this recipe was. I’m guessing quick, cheap and delicious stir-fry at home appeals to many people! So, there’s no better time to make a different version of this dish!
This Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry is equally tasty and even faster and cheaper to make than the Chicken Pumpkin Stir Fry.
This modest stir-fry has plenty of flavours with heat from the dried and fresh chillies. The sauce is salty and savoury which goes beautifully with the sweet creamy pumpkin. The wok roasted cashews provide crunch and smoky flavours.
This stir-fry is incredibly filling and satisfying when paired with steamed rice. You could also make this Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry vegan-friendly by swapping regular fish and oyster sauce for a vegan version of the sauces.
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Welcome to our grubby side
My toddler, Kai, is turning 2 in a couple of weeks, so we booked a mini road trip and holiday to the Central Coast.
I drove past Baby Bunting (baby warehouse) and saw a lady in front. She was installing baby seats but was free, so I parked my car nearby and asked her if she could inspect Kai’s baby seat. We were hoping he was tall enough to get the seat reversed so he would no longer have to stare at the boring seat that was in front of him.
She was lovely and was happy to assist. I opened the back door to show her the seat and died of embarrassment. There were little dirty handprints on the baby seat with toys all over the place and there was lots of sand. ‘Oh, so you’re a little beach boy?’ she asked Kai, baby talking to him sweetly after staring at the mess. There was no smile, hello or wave from Kai, as he was too busy staring at her with his serious face on.
The lady assessed the seat and told us to come back a few days later and she would turn the seat over for us.
I couldn’t go as I had a dentist appointment, so my husband, Tomasi, went with Kai. I’m glad I wasn’t there because I would have died from humiliation again.
The lady remembered Kai as he gave her ‘a cute death stare’ the last time they met. She removed the baby seat and lots of sand oozed out of it. So she took it away from the car and shook it clean. More clumps of sand hit the pavement, along with some old dried up fries and fruits.
An elderly couple waiting to get their baby seat installed gasped in horror, but the lady laughed in amusement. ‘Your car is now way lighter!’ she joked after looking at the pile of mess near her feet. A random couple walked by admiring our little car, then said to the elderly couple, ‘You have a very nice car!’ They both looked extremely insulted and said ‘THAT’S NOT OUR CAR!’
Spicy, not spicy or vegan
Tomasi is the biggest carnivore, but since he met me, his meat consumption has halved, or perhaps even more. This is because I’m the cook and my diet comprises chicken and seafood, whereas he loves his red meat.
When I made this Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry, he looked at it suspiciously and used his fork to dig through the pumpkin ‘Where’s the chicken?’. ‘There’s no chicken but there are lots of roasted cashews’ I replied hoping it would win him over. Since my Chicken and Pumpkin Stir Fry is one of his favourite dishes, winning him over with this dish would prove very challenging.
After a few spoonfuls, hubby thoughtfully goes, ‘It tastes nice, but I miss the chicken’. WHAT A SHOCKER! My sister, Nara, is the opposite. She hardly eats meats and loved this version.
To make this dish vegan-friendly, simply use vegan fish and oyster sauce. I’m amazed at the endless selection of vegan products. I just Googled vegan fish and oyster sauce and saw that they stock these bottles at Coles and Woolworths (our main supermarkets). Although, I am not vegan; I love the idea of having a plant-based diet because I love animals. It’s great that vegans have so much variety to choose from these days.
The spicy level of this Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry is quite high because it has fresh and dried chilli in it. Adjust the chilli to your taste or omit them as the stir-fry would still be very flavourful and delicious. Omitting the chillies would also make the stir-fry more kid-friendly. It’s a great dish for introducing fragrant flavours and textures to young children, and it’s also very nutritious and low in calories.
More aromatic and tasty Thai-inspired recipes to try:
Red Duck Curry with Lychees
Papaya Salad with Prawns
Thai Chicken and Pumpkin
Thai Son in law Eggs
Ingredients for Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry
Pumpkin – I used Japanese (Jap or Kent) pumpkin, which is sweet and nutty in taste and soft in texture. Most variety of sweet, creamy pumpkins or squash would work such as butternut. Chop the pumpkins roughly into 2cm (0.8in) cubes so they won’t take too long to soften.
Oyster sauce adds more depth to the savoury sauce, but it doesn’t have a strong oyster or fishy flavour. It’s actually more salty and sweet in taste. Supermarkets usually have it in their International or ‘sauces’ section.
Light soy sauce or regular soy sauce but avoid the dark or sweet soy sauce varieties, as these are not interchangeable.
Whole dried Chinese chillies (optional) – Dried chillies add heat and smoky flavour to dishes. I bought mine from my local Asian grocer. They were ‘pinky finger’ sized and were medium to mild in heat. You can omit dried chillies or swap it with 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes.
Fish sauce – My favourite brand is Thai ‘Squid’ fish sauce, but any brand of fish sauce will work. It’s sold at supermarkets in the International section or at an Asian grocery store. Fish sauce is pungent with a strong fish smell but adds wonderful flavours to Southeast Asian cuisines.
How to make Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry
Step-by-step guide with photos
In a small bowl, combine and mix the sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Set the sauce aside.
Heat oil over medium heat in a large wok or a deep frying pan (that has a lid). Add in the cashews and stir quickly until they are lightly browned. Remove the cashew from the pan and transfer them onto a plate, leaving just the oil. Set the cashews aside.
Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the garlic, onion, spring onion and dried chillies into the same pan. Stir-fry for a minute and then add in the pumpkin and chillies. Cook the stir-fry for a few minutes, then pour the sauce into the pan, stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then cover the pan and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until the pumpkin softens. During the cooking time, lift the lid and stir occasionally to prevent the stir-fry from catching at the bottom of the pan.
Remove the stir-fry from the heat and stir through half the cashews. Place remaining on top of the stir-fry.
Leftovers – Allow the stir-fry to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the stir-fry into a sealed container and refrigerate. It’ll be good for up to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Pumpkin and Cashew Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
- ⅔ cup natural cashews (or raw)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ medium brown onion (sliced into thin wedges)
- 2 spring onions (green onion, scallions) (sliced into 2 inches lengthwise)
- 10 whole dried Chinese chillies (optional) (NOTE 1)
- 500 gm pumpkin (chopped into approx. 2cm cubes) (NOTE 2)
- 1-2 small red chillies (or adjust to taste) thinly sliced)
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce (NOTE 3)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (NOTE 4)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (NOTE 5)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine and mix the sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Set the sauce aside.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large wok or a deep frying pan (that has a lid). Add in the cashews and stir quickly until they are lightly browned. Remove the cashew from the pan and transfer them onto a plate, leaving just the oil. Set the cashews aside.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the garlic, onion, spring onion, and dried chillies into the same pan. Stir-fry for a minute and then add in the pumpkin and chillies. Cook the stir-fry for a few minutes, then pour the sauce into the pan, stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then cover the pan and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until the pumpkin softens. During the cooking time, lift the lid and stir occasionally to prevent the stir-fry from catching at the bottom of the pan.
- Remove the stir-fry from the heat and stir through half the cashews. Place remaining on top of the stir-fry.
