Szechuan Sauce Recipe (2024)

Szechuan Sauce Recipe

We're following chili peppers around the world and visiting China today, my friends. The Sichuan province, to be exact, home of an iconic sauce you've most likely heard of - Szechuan Sauce.

What is Szechuan Sauce?

Szechuan sauce (or Sichuan sauce, after the Sichuan province in China), is a flavorful and complex condiment from the Sichuan province of southwest China, known for its sweet and spicy combination.

It is a foundation of Szechuan cuisine, which is filled with bold flavors, lot of spices, particularly Szechuan peppercorns and chili peppers, making it perfect for spicy food lovers.

Szechuan sauce itself isn't overly spicy, though you can easily spice things up with hotter chili flakes and powders to your liking.

This sauce is incredibly versatile and super easy to make, which I love, a perfect stir fry sauce, sauce for noodles, a marinade, or dipping sauce with sweet and savory flavors.

Homemade is so much better than anything you'll get at the store or in tiny sauce packets.

Let's talk about how to make szechuan sauce, shall we?

Szechuan Sauce Ingredients

• Soy Sauce.
• Rice Vinegar.
• Sesame Oil.
• Ground Ginger. Fresh ginger is good, too.
• Honey. Or more for sweeter - you can also use brown sugar, sugar, or maple syrup.
• Chili Garlic Sauce.
• Garlic Powder. Fresh garlic is good, too.
• Sriracha. Or more to taste - you can use other hot sauces.
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes. For a hot and spicy version.
• Chicken Stock.

Optional Ingredients

• Cornstarch. Optional, for thickening.
• Szechuan Peppercorns. Lightly toasted and ground (or use black peppercorns instead).
• Chinese 5 Spice.

How to Make Szechuan Sauce - the Recipe Method

Whisk all of the ingredients except the cornstarch together in a small pot. You can blend them in a food processor or blender if you'd like.

Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer a few minutes to meld the ingredients.

You can thicken the Szechuan sauce with cornstarch, if desired, then use as you'd like!

Boom! Done! Your sweet and spicy Szechuan sauce is ready to serve! Easy recipe, isn't it? I love easy. So simple to whip this sauce together last minute for quick and easy meals. So good.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Szechuan peppercorns (aka Sichuan peppercorns) and Szechuan pepper have a unique flavor described as lemony or perfumy, though they are most known for their tongue-numbing sensation. Black peppercorns can be used instead, though they are quite different.

McDonald's Szechuan Sauce. A bit of history to this, and a funny story worth mentioning - McDonald's introduced their version of this iconic sauce to promote the movie Mulan in 1998, then promptly dropped it from its menu, despite being a huge hit.

People clamored for the stuff. It was brought back briefly after being mentioned on the series "Rick and Morty" in 2017, though in limited quantities, prompting offers of thousands of dollars for a single sauce packet.

I guess people love their Szechuan sauce!

Uses for Szechuan Sauce

Szechuan sauce is perfect for stir fry dishes, though it is also wonderful as a marinade or a dipping sauce. Some great dishes include:

• Szechuan Chicken
• Szechuan Beef
• Szechuan Shrimp
• Szechuan Chicken Fried Rice

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my Szechuan sauce recipe. So many great ways to enjoy it! Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy! Szechuan sauce is gluten free, by the way.

Storage & Leftovers

Store yourSzechuan Saucein anairtight containerin the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate the sauce promptly.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

• Teriyaki Chicken
• Teriyaki Marinade
• Dragon Chicken
• Korean Chicken
• Korean Fried Chicken
• Chicken Satay
• Mapo Tofu

Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes

• General Tso Sauce
• Bulgogi Sauce
• Tonkatsu Sauce
• Korean BBQ Sauce
• Hoisin Sauce
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Gochujang Sauce
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Kung Pao Sauce

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.