Szechuan chicken is the ultimate Chinese stir fry with seasoned chicken, spicy chilies and homemade Szechuan sauce, so easy to make and better than takeout! It's the perfect meal for spicy food lovers.
Spicy Szechuan Chicken Recipe
Looking for a quick and easy recipe you can whip together that delivers both flavor and a spicy kick?
Here you go! Tonight we're making Szechuan Chicken, and it is everything you need. Pure satisfaction. Szechuan Chicken satisfies that desperate craving for spicy food with big flavor.
What is Szechuan Chicken?
Szechuan chicken (or Sichuan Chicken) is a spicy stir fry dish that originated from China, known for it's liberal use of hot chilies and tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorns.
You can easily adjust the heat and spice level to your own preferences by removing some of the peppers for milder heat, or adding in others to really blast off on the heat scale.
I know some of you crazy chiliheads are going to REALLY spice things up on this one.
Yesterday I made this Homemade Szechuan Sauce Recipe, which you can make ahead of time if you'd like.
Consider this recipe when you get the urge for Chinese takeout. This is so much better when you make it at home. Homemade is always better, and it's done in under 30 minutes! I hope you enjoy it!
Let's talk about how to make Szechuan chicken, shall we?
Szechuan Chicken Ingredients
- FOR THE SZECHUAN CHICKEN
- Chicken. You can use chicken breast or chicken thighs.
- Liquids. Soy sauce, sesame oil. Sesame oil is key to flavor, though you can use vegetable oil/olive oil if you need to.
- Corn Starch. For thickening.
- Chili Peppers. I'm using bell pepper, serrano peppers, dried chile de arbol peppers (optional for extra spicy, or use other dried red chilies you love).
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sichuan Peppercorns. (aka Szechuan Peppercorns, or use black peppercorns - see the Recipe Notes section below for additional notes.)
- Peanuts. Peanuts offer a nice crunchy quality and flavor. Cashews are great here, too!
- FOR THE SZECHUAN SAUCE
- Soy sauce.
- Rice wine vinegar.
- Sesame oil.
- Ground ginger. Fresh minced ginger is good, too.
- Honey .
- Chili garlic sauce.
- Garlic powder. Fresh minced garlic is good, too.
- Sriracha .
- Crushed red pepper flakes.
- Chicken stock.
- Cornstarch. For thickening
- Sichuan peppercorns. - Lightly toasted and ground.
- Chinese 5 Spice. This is a wonderful spice blend that is essential to many Chinese dishes. I strongly suggest you acquire it, or try my homemade version.
- FOR SERVING
- Cooked white rice or noodles, spicy chili flakes, green onions.
How to Make Szechuan Chicken - the Recipe Method
Marinate the Chicken. Add the chopped chicken to a large bowl. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Marinate for 10 minutes.
You can marinate for longer if you'd like, though you'll get good flavor from a quick 10-minute marinade. I like to marinate mine overnight in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.
Make the Szechuan Sauce. Whisk all of the ingredients except the cornstarch together in a small bowl. Pour into a pot and bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
To thicken the sauce, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water until well mixed. Stir it into the szechuan sauce and stir until it thickens up, 2-3 minutes. Set it aside for now.
Cook the Chicken. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan to medium heat. Toss the chicken pieces with 1/2 cup corn starch to coat. Add it to the pan and cook, stirring, 5-6 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set it aside.
The cornstarch adds some nice texture to the chicken when pan fried, as opposed to being deep fried.
Cook the Peppers. Heat the pan back to medium-high heat and add the peppers. Cook for 5 minutes to soften them up.
I often like to get a bit of caramelization on them from the high heat. Stir fry, my friends!
Add the Flavor Builders. Add the chiles de arbol, peppercorns and chopped peanuts and cook another 2 minutes, stirring. Please see my notes below about the Szechuan peppercorns.
Complete the Dish. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the homemade Szechuan sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. You can simmer for longer if you'd like. If the dish gets too thicken, add in a bit of water to thin it out.
Serve it Up. Serve with rice or noodles. Garnish with extra chopped peanuts and spicy chili flakes. Spring onions are good here, too, or fresh chopped herbs.
Boom! Done! Spicy Szechuan Chicken is ready to enjoy. I love this recipe. It's so easy to make, isn't it? So much better than takeout, even from your favorite Chinese restaurant. It's a great quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Szechuan Sauce. Make the sauce ahead of time, the night before or even up to a week. Just keep it covered in the refrigerator. You can also make a big batch of Szechuan sauce and use it for multiple recipes. It's better than any sauce from the grocery store.
- Szechuan Peppercorns. Szechuan peppercorns (aka Sichuan pepper) can be an acquired taste. They are different from black peppercorns, with a floral, lemony flavor and distinctive tongue numbing sensation. I love them, but they may surprise you.
Heat Factor
Medium-Hot. I use a lot of chili peppers in this recipe, specifically bell peppers, serrano peppers and chile de arbol peppers. The serranos and chiles de arbol are quite spicy, and are completely optional.
Use a jalapeno pepper for a milder level of heat, or omit them entirely, or core them out to reduce the heat.
Storage & Leftovers
Store any leftover Szechuan Chicken and veggies in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my Szechuan chicken recipe. The ultimate Chinese chicken stir fry! Mine is an extra spicy version! I love spicy Chinese food.
Who needs takeout? Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Enjoy all the spicy flavors.
Cookbook Recommendation
If you enjoy cooking Chinese dishes and Asian cuisine, I recommend this book for a lot of easy and iconic recipes from a great chef. I'm learning a lot from it and it helped me to make this dish.
- 101 Asian Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die: Discover a New World of Flavors in Authentic Recipes - by Chef Jet Tila (affiliate link, my friends!)
Try Some of My Other Spicy Chicken Recipes
Try Some of These Other Popular Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Szechuan Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE SZECHUAN CHICKEN
- 1 pound chicken breast chopped into bite-sized pieces (you can also use chicken thighs if you'd like)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup corn starch (use 1-2 tablespoons for a thinner consistency)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil or use olive oil
- 1 large bell pepper chopped
- 2 serrano pepper chopped (optional for extra spicy!)
- 10 dried chile de arbol peppers optional for extra spicy, or use other dried peppers you love
- 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns or use black peppercorns
- 1/4 cup peanuts chopped (plus more for garnish - cashews are great here, too!)
FOR THE SZECHUAN SAUCE
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger fresh minced ginger is good too
- 1 tablespoon honey or more for sweeter
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder fresh minced garlic is good too
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch for thickening
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorns lightly toasted and ground (or use Chinese 5 Spice, or both!)
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (optional, for a slightly thinner sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional, for extra spicy)
FOR SERVING
- Cooked white rice or noodles, spicy chili flakes
Instructions
- Add the chopped chicken to a large bowl. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Marinate for 10 minutes.
FOR THE HOMEMADE SZECHUAN SAUCE
- While the chicken is marinating, whisk all of the ingredients except the cornstarch together in a small pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
- To thicken the sauce, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water until well mixed. Stir it into the Szechuan sauce and stir until it thickens up, 2-3 minutes. For thicker Szechuan sauce, use 2 tablespoons cornstarch and skip the chicken stock. Remove from heat and set aside.
FOR THE SZECHUAN CHICKEN
- Heat the oil in a large pan to medium heat.
- Toss the chicken with 1/2 cup corn starch to coat. Add it to the pan and cook, stirring, 5-6 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set it aside.
- Heat the pan back to medium-high heat and add the peppers. Cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the chiles de arbol, peppercorns and chopped peanuts and cook another 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the chicken back to the pan along with the homemade Szechuan sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve with rice or noodles. Garnish with extra chopped peanuts and spicy chili flakes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 4/12/24 to include new information and video. It was originally published on 5/27/20.
Paul:-) says
Hi Mike,
I’m definitely going through a “Chinese phase” in my cooking at the moment, in particular Szechuan.
If you or any of your readers have access to a Chinese Grocers I would strongly recommend that you invest in a jar of Doubanjiang. It is a fermented Broad bean paste with Chilis and other ingredients, indispensable to Szechuan cuisine. It’s not particularly hot but the fermented beans add a certain depth of flavour that I’m quite addicted to now.
Happy cooking,
Paul:-)
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, I LOVE doubanjiang and have it in my home, ready for cooking!
Clarke says
Is that a 1/4 "cup" of soy sauce for the sauce? Thanks! I'm going to try this tomorrow for lunch! It looks great!
Mike Hultquist says
Clarke, yes, 1/4 cup soy sauce. Thank you!
Chris says
As always, great recipe! The only thing I’ll change up is using a peanut oil next time instead of sesame oil. I made mine a little too spicy. I used chilihead community honey from something called The Honey Pot. Once a year everyone that wants to be a part of it and receive honey sends in pepper powders and flakes. This guy buys barrels of honey and mixes it all in together. It probably has over 40 or different kinds of pepper. Everything from Habaneros, to Armageddon, to Carolina Reapers, KSLS Starburst, to various types of Bhutlah’s, and so on. I mixed in Fresno peppers because I did not have any jalapeños. It tasted great! But it's making me sweat pretty intensely. About 8.5 out of 10 for heat level. I’m looking forward to the next recipe I make of yours.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Chris! That'll definitely spice it up! Thanks!!
Emmélia says
Wow!! The flavors are amazing. Best chicken recipe i've tasted in a long time !!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Mike H. says
Thank you, Emmélia. These are some of my favorite flavors. Enjoy!
Geraldine says
Hi Mike
Tried this this evening. It was amazing! Even better than your original szechuan recipe. Which we also loved. The only problem I had was the coated chicken stuck so much to the wok that I had to wash and de stick it before I could do the veg. ( obviously not a proper terminology!) But you probably know what I mean. Any ideas as to where I went wrong ?
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Geraldine. For next time, make sure the pan is very hot, and be sure to stir-stir-stir a lot. Glad you like the flavor!
Paul Eaton says
I'm going to make this Szechuan Chicken tomorrow. Have to cut back on the heat though. You know, ring-ping, HaHa. Thanks for all the great recipes, Mike. Keep them coming.
Mike Hultquist says
Sure thing, Paul! Enjoy!