Almond chicken is an American Chinese dish. The most common variations involve either stir-frying or deep-frying chicken and topping it with almonds.
Almond boneless chicken
Almond chicken stir fry
Some variations of almond chicken are prepared in a similar manner to cashew chicken, by stir-frying chicken with almonds and vegetables.[1][2] This variation is found in the 1917 Chinese Cook Book by Shiu Wong Chan, which calls for stir-frying chicken with onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts and celery before coating with "Chinese gravy" and topping with almonds.[3] This is one of the oldest recipes for the dish.[4]
Other versions of the dish are prepared by battering chicken and coating it with almonds before frying.[5][6]
Almond boneless chicken or war sui gai, a variation popular in Michigan, features sliced chicken which is deep-fried twice.[7] It is then topped with mushroom gravy and sliced almonds and served on a bed of iceberg lettuce.[8][9] The dish is strongly associated with Detroit,[10] but is also commonly served in Ohio and parts of Eastern Canada.[4]
The origins of almond boneless chicken are unknown, although it was likely developed by Chinese immigrants from Guangdong.[11] It may have originated in Detroit, Michigan,[1] or Columbus, Ohio,[12] and was historically associated with chop suey houses.[10]
