szechwan sauce

Szechuan Tofu and Veggies! A flavorful vegan stir-fry with crispy tofu, szechuan sauce and loaded up with healthy vegetables! Quick, easy and flavorful!!!

Szechuan Tofu and Veggies

salt and pepper

onion

mushrooms (optional)

shredded cabbage (or shredded brussels, or shredded broccoli)

carrots

red bell pepper, thinly sliced

beans

: 6- 8 small dried red Chinese or Arbol chilies

garnish: scallions, sesame seeds, chili flakes

Heat oil in a skillet. Season oil generously with salt and pepper. With tofu, I generally use ½ teaspoon kosher salt per ½ pound of tofu. Swirl the seasoned oil around until spread out uniformly.  Add tofu and sear on at least two sides, until crispy and golden. Be patient here. Set aside.

To the same pan, add a little more oil if needed,  onion, and mushrooms and sauté over medium high heat &#8211; stirring constantly, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining veggies, add the dried chilies if you like -and lower heat to medium, and sauté,  tossing &amp; stirring for 3-5 minutes until just tender or al dente. Tender, but vibrant and still slightly crisp!

Add the Szechuan Sauce, starting with ¼ cup and adding more to taste. Cook the sauce 2 minutes, letting it thicken a bit. Toss in the crispy tofu ( or shrimp or chicken) right at the end, just to warm it up.

Divide among two bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Add chili flakes for more heat.

Serve this just as it is, or over rice, or noodles&#8230; and remember, do not eat the dried chilis!

This was fantastic! I’ve made it twice, once with tofu and once with shrimp, and used the corn starch version of the sauce for stir fry. The sauce kept great in the fridge for a couple of days, between the two versions. Both were terrific but I loved the tofu especially. I used regular peppercorns and served it over quinoa. Way better than restaurant takeout.

I doubled the sauce and made it a day ahead to make dinner quicker.
(I used regular peppercorns, and did not have chilis.)
I also put some of the extra sauce on the tofu and baked it.
New and interesting flavors to put into the rotation.
THanks

Delicious. Freezes well, too. Next time I make it, I think I'll skip the tofu and sub cashew nuts (saves time and I'm not a huge tofu fan).

Turned out really nice. Served with rice. Used packaged szechuan sauce instead of making my own

I really wanted to love this recipe but I found it to be a bit salty with the base of tamari. I had to put about 1/4 cup of water to make it more tolerable. Any suggestions?

I made this recipe last night and substituted some of the veggies. It was super good and the sauce was delicious! Will make again.

I made this for our meatless Monday dinner and it was so delicious!  I made a large batch of the Szechuan sauce to have on hand for more meals to come.  Thank you so much!

This is delicious! My husband made it for dinner tonight and I practically licked the bowl!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/NWwbsRCC.mp4

Szechuan Tofu and Veggies Video 

AMAZING Authentic Szechuan Sauce! Use as an easy delicious stir-fry sauce or flavorful marinade - preservative-free, msg free, gluten-free adaptable, vegan and full of amazing flavor! Can be made in 5 minutes! Keeps for 10 days in the fridge!

Szechuan Sauce

½ -1 teaspoon Szechuan Peppercorns (or sub black peppercorns)

soy sauce

tablespoons honey (or sub maple syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar or sugar alternative)

sesame oil

tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or black vinegar)

Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing)

garlic cloves, finely minced (use a garlic press)

ginger,

garlic chili paste (like sambal

Chinese Five Spice

corn starch,

Toast szechuan peppercorns in a hot dry skillet over medium heat, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Crush.

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl or small jar and whisk until well combined.

If using as a stir-fry sauce, and you would like to thicken it, whisk in 2 teaspoons cornstarch.

If using as a marinade, forgo the cornstarch and make sure to season what you are marinating ( chicken, tofu, beef) with salt. The marinade alone will probably not be salty enough.

If making a stir-fry, try adding a few dry  Chinese or Arbol chilies (5-10) to the stir-fry, right before adding the Szechuan Sauce. Do not eat the chilis. 😉

This szechuan sauce has just the perfect balance, plus the addition of szechuan peppercorns was a nice touch. I've made it both ways- with and without the peppercorns, and both turned out good.

Love the flavor of this sauce. Perfect for quick stir-fry with out all the add preservatives. Simple yet full of flavor.

I have ground Szechuan pepper. How should I substitute it? it doesn't seem to have much flavour if I just put some on my tongue

My young adult daughter flipped when I made this sauce  with noodles for her.

I freakin' LOVE this. Use it to marinade chicken and in quick stir-frys.

Made as stated, adding the cornstarch.  Bought the Szechuan peppercorns ( ordered on line) and I'm never using store bought again. Fantastic!

Hands-down, the best stir-fry sauce I've ever made. Everyone raved.

Hands-down the best szechuan sauce I've ever made. Bought the szechuan peppercorns on amazon like you said and this was EPIC!

Loved this!  Made it with black peppercorns because I couldn't find szechuan peppercorns.  I'm ording some tonight.  Can't wait to try it again with the szechuan.

Hi I need a information what is the exact difference between schezwan sauce and schezwan chutney, can you please tell me

I lived in New York City in the late 1980's and I had unforgettable memories of the delicious Szechuan Broccoli in Garlic Sauce that one could find all over the city at that time.  For decades, I searched cookbooks and then all over the internet to find a good Szechuan sauce recipe -- and have not liked a single one -- until yours.  Your recipe is absolutely WONDERFUL and has filled a huge gap in my repertoire.  I can't thank you enough for developing it and sharing it.   This sauce is so superb that I made it two nights in a row.  I'm just thrilled and grateful for this recipe.  It has become a permanent member of my top favorite recipes of all time.  Thank you!

I made this today in preparation for tonight’s dinner and it is very good! Thank for posting this recipe, I’ll definitely be using it again. As soon as I tried it, I shared The recipe link with my Dad &amp; friend to try. Thank you!

Hey, I just tried your recipe, with balsamic vinegar and a mix of szechuan and madagascar wild pepper. It was amazing with gyozas. Thanks a lot !

Loved it, very authentic taste even though I had to make a couple of substitutions and omitted the wine.A wonderful meal for was created for valentines day, my wife also enjoyed it very much. Thankyou

I review a lot of recipes/ products and hardly ever give a 5-star rating.  This recipe deserves it!  I changed the recipe slightly because I didn't have 5-spice powder on hand (now on the list for the next Penzeys run), so what I did was warm the mixture a bit, added a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves, and a star anise.  I allowed it to sit until the mixture cooled then used about a third of the sauce for a stir fry.  I let the star anise remain in the mixture, in the refrigerator, until I used the rest of it.  Oh, I also subbed dry sherry for the rice wine/ mirin.  This is a great sauce to have on hand for quick dinners, and my husband and I do love stir fry dishes.  THANK YOU!!

Haven’t used in recipe but just made it and it’s delicious!! Ty !!

Fantastic!  Absolutely perfect in my hotpot.

I made the sauce precisely as directed.  On initial tasting, and after 24 hours in the fridge, the overwhelming impression is Chinese 5-Spice.  I'll try it in cooking, but I'm dubious.

As expected, the Five Spice powder was 'way too prominent in the cooked dish.  Recommend omitting it, or reducing amount to something like 1/8 tsp or a pinch.  We found it under-spiced on the pepper side and added chili flakes.  In sum, not bad, but not authentic.

I've made this sauce to substitute a Szechuan garlic paste from a meal kit and not only did my son tell me it tastes exactly the same, I found it delicious by itself. I tripled the recipe, heated it up and  added the cornstarch to it. That makes it the perfect marinating sauce and the leftovers will be stored in the fridge to be used in another stir fry or to flavour leftover meat for my poke bowls :)

Sheet-Pan Szechuan Chicken (or Tofu) with Brussel Sprouts  takes only 15-20 minutes of hands on time before baking in the oven. A full-flavored weeknight dinner your whole family will love!

Szechuan Chicken and Brussel Sprouts

lbs chicken thighs

– 1 ½ lbs medium brussel sprouts, halved

honey or agave

soy sauce (or use GF soy sauce

rice vinegar

Garlic Chili Paste (more

garlic

fresh ginger, finely minced or ginger paste

salt, more for sprinkling

Make the szechuan marinade by stirring all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken, either in a bowl or zip lock bag. Let chicken marinate while you prep the brussel sprouts, or marinate overnight ( for even more flavor!) .

Cut the brussels sprouts in half. The brussels sprouts pictured here are ping-pong ball sized, so depending on size, you may need to quarter, or leave them whole. If using very very small brussel sprouts,   leave them whole. If extra- large, like a golf ball,  then quarter.

Place brussel sprouts in a bowl and pour the remaining marinade over brussel sprouts and toss. Add a few dried chilies if you like ( just for looks) and spread them out out on a large, parchment or foil-lined sheet pan. Nestle the chicken thighs (or tofu)  in between, and spoon any remaining marinade over the chicken. ***Season the chicken or tofu with a little salt (especially if not marinating overnight!). 

Bake it in the hot oven, for 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes, rotating if need be, and spooning a little of the  pan juices over the chicken or tofu. After 30 minutes, double-check for doneness ( either use a thermometer, should read 170 F) or cut into one. Feel free to broil for a few minutes to get the chicken skin deeply golden if need be.

If using a different cut of chicken see notes.

Serve by dividing the brussel sprouts and top with the chicken. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with more chili paste for extra spicy.

Great recipe !! Very easy to prepare using only the oven.  Love the szechuan peppercornns.

I made this the other night and it was delicious. I used a combo of brussels sprouts and cauliflower (because I needed to use up a head of cauliflower) with chicken and it was so so good.  Thanks for the great recipes Sylvia.

This was really good, I used Sambal Olek instead of the garlic chili paste since I have a sensitivity to garlic. I also doubled the marinade since the amount of veggies + rice + protein I cook generally requires it - this recipe probably only really needed about 1.25-1.5x the marinade for 'appropriate sauce level.' The extra sauce can just make the next time I make this faster.

I really liked this recipe. 
I have to double sauces/marinades because I add extra protein+rice+veggies but this one left me with extra after doubling which was nice.
I had to limit the garlic in this recipe due to a sensitivity, would using a pinch or two of hing work here as an alternative?

I really liked this recipe. 
I generally have to double sauces/marinades because I add extra protein+rice+veggies but this one left me with extra which was nice.
I had to limit the garlic in this recipe due to a sensitivity, would using a pinch or two of hing work here as an alternative?

I made this for dinner last night and the flavors were so goood. It has earned a place on my meals to make again pinterest board!

The brussel sprouts were amazing but I thought the chicken was a bit tasteless.  Maybe more spices and longer marinating next time round.  Thanks for the recipe.  Love your site.

I love this blog, and I have cooked many fantastic meals using your recipes. But this one did not turn out well for me - the only time I've had this happen. I've tried this recipe twice - once exactly as written, and a second time using only brussel sprouts and cauliflower (no chicken). The marinade is very flavorful, but the veggies seem to braise in all the liquid instead of carmelizing and roasting as I expected. Did I misuse the recipe, or is this the expected outcome?  I was really hoping for carmelized veggies with a stickier glaze, and that's not how it turned out. 

Any guidance, or maybe this one recipe is just not for me. In any case, I love this blog and will continue expermenting with your other recipes.

This was amazing. All my kiddos loved it. My 10 year old said you can make this kind of chicken every night!!

Another winner of a dinner for a busy weeknight ! I didn’t have time to pre-marinate the chicken but it still turned out super delicious. Will definitely make this again.

This recipe was easy and good. The Brussels sprouts were very tasty, although not caramelized. I marinated the chicken a good hour before baking but wished they could have gone longer. I couldn’t find garlic chili paste so I subbed in garlic chili sauce, using a few teaspoons extra. I also added a teaspoon of brown sugar. I definitely plan to make this again but will probably plan for a longer cooking time to suit our tastes. The chicken was definitely done but overall I would have like more caramelization, and I’ll probably season the chicken with salt and pepper first if I can’t marinate overnight. But honestly a very good dish as-is!

Hi, Sylvia,
Your fantastic receipes have inspired me for making this meal with Black Cod leftover  in the freezer. Does it mean  that after defrosting  the fish can be marinating  overnight or  it is  better to reduce  the time?

I've never tried brussel sprouts before but I was getting sick of broccoli and asparagus sides. This was so good! Made it with chicken breast instead. My partner said its a "definite make again"

Made this a number of times now and have used bok choy when I didn't have brussel sprouts. Very tasty!

Made this recipe with chicken drumsticks and black peppercorns instead of the Szechuan peppers (we LOVE the tingle on your mouth but our kids wouldn't).  My husband who cooks like a Michelin-stared chef only stated that he would have increased the cook time on the drumsticks.  in order to do that, I would have had to put in the drumsticks earlier (without the brussel sprouts) or the brussel sprouts would have deteriorated.  He loved the flavors and the recipe in general though as did my kids! Thank you!

Made this tonight; great flavor and my chicken thighs were so tender! I got great color on the chicken skin, but it was not crispy overall. I did make my 4 thighs in a glass dish vs. a baking sheet, as there was not enough room for the chicken and sprouts (I added baby carrots too) on my baking sheet, so I did them separately. Very good and I will make this again!

This was excellent. My chicken marinated for about 2 hrs and I did not salt it as it was a little salty already due to the soy sauce.  I used dark soy sauce and black vinegar.  I served it with a miso-ginger salad and it was really lovely.

Another wonderful dish, Sylvia. I turned it after 20 minutes and my chicken thigh skin was still quite rubbery, but after another 15 minutes the skin was beautifully crispy and reddish from the marinade. My two year old twins loved the chicken and ate several brussel sprouts (which is a win for us). Your recipes are wonderful for introducing little ones to various flavors, textures, and spices. Will definitely make this again. Did I mention it was so easy?!

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Szechuan Chicken and Brussel Sprout...

Top 4 szechwan sauce recipes from across the web

The most viewed szechwan sauce recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Szechuan Tofu and Veggies

Szechuan Sauce

Szechuan Chicken and Brussel Sprout...

Szechuan Chicken and Brussel Sprout...

The most viewed szechwan sauce recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine