Szechuan Chicken

This Szechuan chicken stir-fry combines mouthwatering marinated chicken bites with tender-crisp red and green bell peppers, onions, garlic, and ginger in a spicy and savory sauce seasoned with Sichuan peppercorns.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.

• Chicken broth: Use low-sodium broth or chicken stock.
• Soy sauce: It is best to use low-sodium.
• Oyster sauce: This is a savory condiment used in Chinese cooking. Not everyone likes it, so feel free to substitute Hoisin sauce. The flavor will be a little different, but it is equally delicious.
• Rice vinegar: Substitute champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Sichuan peppercorns: These peppercorns can be challenging to find. I order them online. Substitute an equal amount of black peppercorns and coriander seeds.
• Chicken breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
• Ginger: Freshly grated or ginger paste. Ginger paste is sold in tubes in the refrigerated produce section of most grocery stores. It will keep for weeks stored in the refrigerator.
• Dried red chilis: You can substitute sambal Oelek or crushed red pepper flakes for the dried red chilis. Start with 1/2 tablespoon Sambal Oelek or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

How To Make Szechuan Chicken

This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.

1. Whisk the sauce ingredients together. Pour half the sauce into a larger bowl and add the chicken to marinate. Marinate for 30-45 minutes.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, pushing off any peppercorns with a table knife. Cook the chicken until browned and cooked through. Plate the cooked chicken.
3. If needed, add a little more olive oil to the skillet. Cook the bell pepper and onion until crisp-tender. Plate the vegetables.
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, ginger, and red chilis, cooking for a minute. Pour the remaining sauce into the skillet and cook until thickened.
5. Return the cooked chicken and vegetables to the skillet and stir to coat.

Preparation Tips For Success

• Remove the peppercorns from the marinating meat and remaining sauce before cooking. Run the remaining sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Eat around them if any are left in the dish. They infuse a lot of flavor but leave your tongue and mouth tingling.
• Remember, the key to good, crisp, tender stir-fried vegetables is high heat for short periods of time.
• Prep the sauce up to 24 hours in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Whisk well before using.
• Sometimes I double the sauce ingredients because we like a lot of sauce with our rice. Remember that it raises the sodium content and calorie count.

Serving Suggestions For Szechuan Chicken

• Appetizers: classic homemade egg rolls, crispy crab rangoon, or cream cheese wontons.
• Soup: egg drop soup, dumpling soup, or wonton soup.
• Salad: easy Asian cucumber salad, Asian slaw, or Asian noodle salad.

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