This delicious healthier Szechuan Beef recipe tastes authentic and is fun to make! Challenge your sense of culinary adventure with this complexly flavored dish.
This blog post could be alternatively titled How to Turn an Inexpensive Cut of Beef into an Otherwordly Experience.
Sticky, spicy, tender, saucy, snappy, sweet…Szechuan Beef has every flavor element yet requires an unfancy cut of beef.
Now listen. This recipe isn’t for quitters. It does require commitment to ingredient procurement.
If you don’t typically make Asian cuisine, at first glance, the ingredients list may be a tad overwhelming. There are a lot of ingredients needed, and there may be several ingredients with which you aren’t familiar.
The good news is, most grocery stores carry all of the ingredients.
I recommend sourcing the ingredients at least one day before you’re planning to make the meal to ensure you have everything you need. If you aren’t able to find all of the spices or sauces at your store, you can find them easily online.
Your hard work will pay off, as this simple recipe results in tender beef engulfed in the most amazing savory and spicy stir-fry sauce.
Let’s go deep.
What is Szechuan Beef?
Szechuan beef originates from the Sichuan Province in southwestern China. Chili peppers (or chili paste), garlic, ginger, and Szechuan peppercorn are the main ingredients used to flavor the meal.
In addition, the sweet and spicy sauce includes complex flavors coming from oyster sauce, Chinese 5 spice, vinegar, soy sauce (in this case, liquid aminos), and sometimes hoisin sauce. It has a sweet, tangy, and spicy multifaceted taste.
Some folks confuse Szechuan Beef with Mongolian Beef. While there are a few ingredient crossovers, Mongolian beef tends to be a bit more subtle in its flavor and has very little spice (unless you intentionally make it spicy).
What Type of Beef to Use for Szechuan Beef:
Use sirloin steak for Szechuan Beef. Sirloin steak is a very affordable cut. When marinated then cooked in the incredibly flavorful sauce, sirloin steak is transformed from unexciting to incredibly drool-worthy.
Szechuan Beef Ingredients:
Marinade Ingredients:
Soy sauce (or liquid aminos), rice vinegar, sambal oelek, sesame oil, fresh ginger, garlic powder, and tapioca flour.
Szechuan Sauce Ingredients:
Szechuan peppercorns, oyster sauce, soy sauce (or liquid aminos), gochujang, pure maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, sambal oelek, sesame oil and Chinese 5-spice.
This savory sauce is what makes the dish a spicy stir fry, as Szechuan peppercorns and gochujang are spicy.
Stir Fry Ingredients:
Avocado oil, steak, yellow onion, and red bell pepper.
How to Make Szechuan Beef:
Stir the ingredients for the marinade together in a measuring cup or a small bowl.
Slice the steak into thin strips. About ¼ inch thick and 2 inches long. Place the steak in a plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Allow steak to marinate for at least 1 hour (up to 24).
Stir together the ingredients for the sauce in a mixing bowl or measuring cup.
When you’re ready to cook the steak, heat a large skillet to high heat and add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil (or high temperature cooking oil of choice).
Add the steak in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the steak gets a golden-brown crust and begins to stick to the skillet, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the beef to a plate and add the vegetables to the skillet to sauté them (you can add more avocado oil if need be).
Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn translucent and vegetables reach desired done-ness, about 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the beef back to the skillet, along with the sauce. Stir well and bring everything to a boil.
Cook, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until everything is well-coated in thick sauce and the beef is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in chopped green onions if you’d like. Serve Szechuan Beef over choice of steamed rice or cauliflower rice.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Tips:
- Note that many of the ingredients for the sauce and marinade overlap, so you may consider making the sauce at the same time you make the marinade.
- Asian markets carry all of the ingredients included in this recipe, so skip the regular grocery store to save time.
- For crispy Szechuan beef, skip the marinade. Simply bread the strips of beef in flour and pan fry them in a skillet until golden brown and crispy. Then, add in the sauce.
Recipe Variations:
- To make this recipe paleo friendly, simply replace the liquid aminos with coconut aminos and use cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar.
- In this application, the tapioca flour is used for thickening. Replace it with corn starch if you prefer.
- Replace the pure maple syrup with sugar or brown sugar.
- If you can’t find Szechuan peppercorns, replace them with red pepper flakes or chili oil.
- Toss in other fresh vegetables such as bok choy, sugar snap peas, Chinese broccoli florets, green bell peppers, water chestnuts, etc.
The next time you’re craving Chinese takeout, whip up this fast and delicious spicy Szechuan beef recipe!
More Amazing Takeout Recipes:
- Easy 30-Minute Paleo Mongolian Beef
- Paleo General Chicken
- Ground Turkey Egg Roll Bowls
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 30-Minute Paleo Beef Stir Fry
- Pork Stir Fry
And that’s it! Go forth and throw yourself into the wonderful world of Szechuan Beef!
Szechuan Beef Recipe
Ingredients
Steak & Marinade:
- 2 lbs sirloin steak cut into thin ¼ inch strips
- 3 tbsp liquid aminos
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sambal oelek
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp tapioca flour
Szechuan Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup liquid aminos
- 1 Tbsp gochugang
- ¼ cup water
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar or pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sambal oelek
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp szechuan peppercorn
- 3/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice
Stir Fry:
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper cut into match sticks
Instructions
- Stir the ingredients for the marinade together in a measuring cup of mixing bowl. Slice the steak into thin strips – about ¼ inch thick and 2 inches long. Place the steak in a plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Allow steak to marinate for at least 1 hour (up to 24).
- Stir together the ingredients for the sauce in a mixing bowl or measuring cup (note that many of the ingredients for the sauce and marinade overlap, so you may consider making the sauce at the same time you make the marinade).
- When you’re ready to cook the steak, heat a large skillet to high heat and add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil (or high temperature cooking oil of choice). Add the steak and cook, stirring occasionally, until the steak gets a golden-brown crust and begins to stick to the skillet.
- Transfer the beef to a plate and add the vegetables to the skillet to sauté them (you can add more avocado oil if need be). Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn translucent and vegetables reach desired done-ness, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the beef back to the skillet, along with the sauce. Stir well and bring everything to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until everything is well-coated in thick sauce and the beef is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Serve Szechuan Beef over choice of steamed rice or cauliflower rice.
Nutrition
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