I love spicy sauces and if you also do, just gather your ingredients together and you only need 10 minutes cook time to make this super easy authentic Szechuan sauce recipe.
This easy and simple homemade Szechuan Sauce recipe has always been our secret to a great and delicious meal.
making it at home is quite cheap, and you can mix and match the ingredients to your liking
it makes the perfect stir fry sauce for chicken, beef, pork, seafood, and veggies.
Szechuan Sauce Recipe
Szechuan Sauce is a hot and spicy sauce that originated in Sichuan province in southwest China. It has a complex and bold combination of flavors, with a nice balance of spiciness and savory flavor to it.
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- Sesame seeds or Chili flakes for garnishing
- Seasonings – you can add some Chinese five-spice powder, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- sesame oil
- Szechuan peppercorns – if you cannot find some, use black or red peppercorns or red pepper flakes
- Corn-starch – it thickens the sauce , of you would want your sauce thick.
- Sweetener – Feel free to use brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup or whatever sweetener you may prefer. Just make sure to taste and adjust based on your preference. It is optional.
- Fresh ginger – being a Chinese dish, this is one of the main ingredients. Plus, it brings a nice flavor to it.
- Fresh garlic (minced) – it tastes just so perfect
- salt
- Rice vinegar – balances the flavor nicely in the sauce.
- Soy sauce – This is the base for the sauce. I suggest you use low sodium and use tamari for the gluten-free version.
Instructions
- Toast the peppercorns (Szechuan peppercorns – if you cannot find some, use black or red peppercorns or red pepper flakes) in a dry pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir them occasionally to evenly toast the peppercorns. Once they’re fragrant, grind them in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) until a fine powder. Sift the Szechuan powder in a fine-mesh sieve to make sure no big pieces are left in the powder.
- Make a slurry with the corn-starch.
- In a saucepan, mix water, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger paste, minced garlic and salt. Turn the stove to medium heat until the mix starts bubblingOn medium heat, allow to simmer for some minutes
- Next, simply add all the ingredients, except the slurry, to a saucepan over medium heat
- After that, whisk and simmer until well combined on medium heat
- After cooking the stir fry sauce for a few minutes, whisk the slurry into the mixture. Also, make sure to stir slowly and constantly, until it thickens. This will take 3-4 minutes.
- When done, remove from heat and let it cool to serve as a dipping sauce or use it as a stir fry sauce immediately
- Add in your sesame seeds or chilli flakes for garnishing.
Video
Notes
Common ingredients found in Szechuan sauce are soy sauce, peppercorn, ginger, chili oil, vinegar, garlic, and sugar. A mix of sweetness with a hint of spiciness would best describe the taste of Szechuan sauce.
Szechuan sauce is used for cooking, while Szechuan chutney is served directly with food.
This simple Szechuan Sauce recipe has been one of my go-to favorites in the kitchen for years.
Nutrition
Serving: 150g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Lillian
Lillian loves to try her hands on new recipes. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise: food is the way to everyone's heart.
