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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.
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Szechuan Beef
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
Instructions
- Marinate the beef, with all the ingredients in the Marinade, for 15 minutes.
- Combine all the ingredients in the Sauce, stir and mix well, set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the Sauce and stir to combine well. Stir in the scallion and chili oil, dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Hai …
I have recently discovered your website, I am enjoying reading it very much, it has great info! I hope we can begin to exchange some ideas!
Good site for all.. thanks
Welcome!
I’ve made this several times now, and my husband LOVES it. I use celery rather than peppers. Tried it tonight in a pressure cooker rather than wok, and the results were quite satisfactory! This has become a regular menu item at our house.
Awesome!
Will try it tomorrow.. Look Delicious!
I loved it!!! My wife said it is too spicy. How should I compromise to make it suitable for the both of us. Thank you so much! Delish!!!!
Hi Daniel just cut down on the garlic chili sauce and chili oil.
i would love to try this scrumptious looking recip, however, I can not use wine …can you please suggest an alternative to wine?
You can skip it.
My goodness this makes me so hungry! I couldn’t resist pinning for safe keeping and sharing it with my peeps on the ‘ol facebook page. Yum!!!
Hi Natasha, LOL, that’s too funny. Thanks for the repin and this recipe is great, especially now that it’s cold because it will heat you up. :)
How can I make this spicy? Or is it as written?
It’s not overly spicy but with a slight heat. You can add some heat by adding chili oil or dried red chilies.
Hi rasa.. Was just wondering.. Can I substitute the beef for chicken?? And also, do Chinese noodles have another name?? Because I don’t seem to find them here in the supermarkets! Thanks
Of course. :)
Chinese egg noodles, Chinese chow mein.
I doubled this recipe tonight for family dinner. I mostly kept it the same except I left out the oyster sauce and substituted a small splash of fish sauce. I also added quite a lot more chilli oil, the kind with crunched up chillies, because no matter how hot I make it, it’s not hot enough at my house. Ever. I also added szechuan peppercorn, ground, about half a teaspoon. It was absolutely delicious.
Still not hot enough for my wife though. I put in three heaping tablespoon of chili oil,too. I was sweating and my mouth was numb. I will be making this again.
Hi Elfmirkin, that’s great that your family enjoyed this dish. Happy cooking. :)
Have a dessert pastry with Strawberry preserves as they will compliment the dish and give a Lessened morning after effect from real fiery chili’s.
Grapefruit soda as well was a favorite of my Father. he could eat anything with impunity that way.
You can try adding a bit of egg mixture to the marinate on top of the cornstarch. It helps make the meat even more tender.
Yes, egg white and cornstarch.