This Szechuan Chili Chicken is a spicy stir fry that features tender pieces of chicken with bell peppers and snow peas, all tossed together with a sweet and spicy sauce. Colorful and delicious, this easy chicken recipe will easily rival your favorite takeout. Serve it over rice for a fast weeknight meal!
This Szechuan chicken is a quick recipe that cooks in 30 minutes, making it absolutely perfect for a busy weeknight. It’s bursting with flavor and it’s so simple to make that you’re going to save so much money from skipping the take-out. And the best part about making it at home is you can customize it however you’d like.
I love cooking Chinese-inspired take-out recipes at home as it only ever takes a handful of ingredients to make something delicious. If you want to make another easy dinner this week, try my Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken, Easy Chicken Lo Mein, Mongolian Chicken or Baked Teriyaki Salmon.
Why You’ll Love This Szechuan Chicken Takeout Recipe
- It’s easy. This Szechuan chicken comes together super easily. All you have to do is mix the sauce, stir fry the chicken and vegetables, and then toss it with the sauce. Easy as pie.
- It’s flavorful. This chicken recipe is packed with flavor thanks to the sauce and vegetables. Everyone will want seconds of this delicious chicken.
- It uses simple ingredients. All of these ingredients are either kitchen staples or items you can find in your local grocery store. You can make this in no time!
What is Szechuan Chicken?
Szechuan chicken is a chicken stir fry recipe that’s originated from the Sichuan providence of China. It contains black peppercorns and dried red chilies. Szechuan chicken is usually made with vegetables, and may also contain roasted peanuts.
Szechuan Chicken Ingredients
- Szechuan sauce: to make the Szechuan chicken sauce, you’ll need soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, cornstarch, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Oil: use whatever neutral oil you have on hand.
- Chicken tenders: cube them so they cook quickly.
- Bell peppers: I use yellow and red bell peppers. Feel free to use only red or yellow if you prefer.
- Snow peas: if you don’t have snow peas, try snap peas.
- Green onions: they provide a fresh flavor as well as being a pretty garnish.
- Sesame seeds: for garnish.
How To Make Szechuan Chicken
Szechuan Sauce
- Make the sauce: Prepare the Szechuan sauce by combining the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, cornstarch, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a medium skillet with a tablespoon of oil, add the chicken cubes and cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden, and transfer the chicken pieces to a plate.
- Stir fry the vegetables: To the same skillet add the remaining tablespoon of oil; add the peppers and snow peas and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Combine everything: Stir the chicken back into the skillet along with the Szechuan sauce and cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened. Add the green onions and sesame seeds, toss it, and serve.
Tips to Make Authentic Szechuan Chicken Recipe at home
- If you prefer more sauce to drizzle over top, you can easily double or triple the sauce ingredients in the recipe.
- To make this spicier, add more red chili flakes and sriracha.
- Make this vegetarian by swapping the chicken for tofu cubes.
- You can add more vegetables such as mushrooms, broccoli, and/or carrots to the stir fry if you prefer.
- For an added crunch, you can add peanuts, cashews, or sliced almonds.
- You can mix together the Szechuan sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Szechuan Recipe Variations
- Meat: You can use any meat you want if you don’t like chicken. Shrimp or steak strips work well with this recipe.
- Seasonings: I recommend sticking to peppercorns for this recipe to keep the original flavor. You can however boost up the flavor with some Gochujan sauce.
- Nuts: I like using peanuts for extra crunch. But you can also add in toasted almonds or cashews.
- Vegetables: Bell peppers are a much for this recipe. However, you can add vegetable you like. Some great additions would be mushrooms, sliced carrots, broccoli, asparagus, Bok Choy etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Szechuan chicken is a delicious mix of spicy, savory, and sweet. You can adjust each of those notes by adding more or less of each ingredient in the sauce. At restaurants, this tends to be a spicy dish but you’re able to adjust it at home.
This dish is best served as soon as it’s made as the sauce will gel up as it cools. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat the Szechuan chicken on the stovetop gently until warm through, or in the microwave.
This Szechuan chicken is a great meal served on a bed of white rice, brown rice, Udon noodles, Vegetable Lo Mein Noodles, or whatever carb dish you’ve got on hand.
Hunan chicken has a dry and spicy hot flavor and has no sauce. While Szechuan chicken has a spicy, savory, and sweet sauce. It also does not contain any vegetables other than what can be found in the seasoning.
Store your leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for days. To reheat, place in a covered skillet over low heat until just heated through. You can also reheat in the microwave if you like.
More Chicken Recipes To Try
- Crispy Honey Chicken
- Creamy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
- Oven Baked Roasted Whole Chicken
- Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken
- Chinese Lemon Chicken
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Spicy Szechuan Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Chinese Szechuan Chili Chicken
Ingredients
To prepare the Szechuan sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp red chili flakes
- ¾ tsp black peppercorn fresh ground
- ½ tsp salt
To prepare the chicken stir fry:
- 2 tbsp oil divided
- 1 lb chicken tenders cubed
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper cubed
- ½ cup red bell pepper cubed
- ½ cup snow peas cut diagonally
- ½ cup green onions cut into 1 inch size
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the szechuan sauce by combining the szechuan sauce ingredients to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat a medium skillet with a tablespoon of oil, add the chicken cubes and cook for 2-3 minutes until light golden and transfer the chicken pieces to a plate.
- To the same skillet add the remaining tablespoon of oil; add the peppers and snow peas and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir the chicken back into the skillet along with the schezwan sauce and cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened.
- Finally add the green onions and sesame seeds, toss it and serve.
Notes
- If you prefer more sauce to drizzle over top, you can easily double or triple the sauce ingredients in the recipe.
- To make this spicier, add more red chili flakes and sriracha.
- Make this vegetarian by swapping the chicken for tofu cubes.
- You can add more vegetables such as mushrooms, broccoli, and/or carrots to the stir fry if you prefer.
- For an added crunch, you can add peanuts, cashews, or sliced almonds.
- You can mix together the Szechuan sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
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