Chinese Szechuan Beef
Over the years, countless American readers request a Szechuan beef recipe.
Therefore, I developed this recipe specifically for everyone waiting for this popular American-Chinese recipe.
To clarify, I say this because I have never had American-style Szechuan beef until very recently.
What Is Sichuan Beef?
Szechuan beef, much like beef and broccoli, is not actually from China.
For example, there is a poached beef from Sichuan that is in a fiery chili-oil sauce, called 水煮牛肉, or literally “Water Cooked Beef” that looks like this picture.
On the other hand, the Chinese beef dishes found in the US are mostly just stir-fried beef in a mildly spicy sauce with some vegetables.
Every Chinese restaurant or Chinese buffet here has their own rendition of Sichuan beef.
Consequently, this Szechuan beef is my take on PF Chang’s version.
What Does Szechuan Beef Taste Like?
The beef is thinly sliced and marinated with cornstarch to achieve a velvety and tender texture, which is highly prized in Chinese cuisine.
The sauce is a tad spicy, savory, and slightly sweet.
Szechuan Beef is not to be confused with Hunan or Mongolian Beef. Hunan Beef is generally spicier in flavor than Szechuan cuisine, while Mongolian Beef is more mild in taste.
The end result of this beef pairs great with steamed rice and I hope you will enjoy my concoction.
If you love American-Chinese food, I have a lot of popular Chinese recipes here on Rasa Malaysia, for example: sweet and sour pork, chow mein, egg drop soup, cashew chicken, Chinese honey chicken, egg foo young, and so much more. Click here to check out all my Chinese recipes.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 486 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
Szechuan Beef
Szechuan Beef - easy and delicious beef stir-fried with red and green bell peppers, in a mildly spicy savory sauce, so yummy!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 8 oz. beef cut into thin strips
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 small green bell pepper cut into long strips
- 1/4 small red bell pepper cut into long trips
- 1-2 baby carrots cut into matchstick strips
- 1/2 teaspoon chili oil bottled chili oil, optional
- 2 stalks scallions cut into 2-inch strips
Marinade:
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon shaoxing wine chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
Sauce:
- 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon chili oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
-
1
Marinate the beef, with all the ingredients in the Marinade, for 15 minutes.
-
2
Combine all the ingredients in the Sauce, stir and mix well, set aside.
-
3
Heat up a wok and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is fully heated, add the beef and do a few quick stirs, until the surface turns opaque and slightly charred. Transfer out and set aside.
-
4
Clean the wok and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is fully heated, add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic. Add all the peppers and carrots and stir a few times before adding the beef back into the wok.
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5
Add the Sauce and stir to combine well. Stir in the scallion and chili oil, dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Recipe Notes
I used Rooster brand (Huy Foong) chili garlic sauce, which is commonly available in the US. Other brand of coarse chili garlic sauce will work just fine. Shaoxing wine or Chinese rice wine is optional, however it makes the dish better with a faint aroma. Szechuan is the old English spelling for Sichuan, a province in China.
Looked at a number of recipes and liked yours the best. Have my flank steak cut in thin strips and ready to go. Think I have all the other ingredients w/o having to make another trip to the grocery store. Going to make this just as instructed except adding strips of onion.
Looks so good!
Thanks Judy!
Have made this, and a variation using chicken instead of beef. Both have been fantastic, much better than our local takeaway choice, and family have asked instead of buying takeaways in future can I just keep making this. My daughter wants the sauce bottled up so she can just dip chips in it :) Thankyou for sharing the recipes
Awesome Allen. All my recipes are very good, you can try more recipes on my site: https://reference.rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/ and https://reference.rasamalaysia.com/recipes/chinese-food-recipes-chinese-recipes/
Hi Bee,
Do you happen to have a recipe for
水煮牛肉 – Sichuan water cooked beef?
I love Sichuanese food. Thank you.
Hi Joe, I don’t have the recipe on my site.
Just made this. It is delicious! Perfect amount of spice. I’m definitely making this again