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Delicious Szechuan Beef is filled with mouthwatering bold flavor! Tender strips of beef, bell peppers, snap peas, and broccoli are stir-fried together with a perfectly sweet, spicy, tangy sauce. It’s way better than takeout and cooks up in under 20 minutes!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bold Flavor: Szechuan (Sichuan) beef is known for its sweet and spicy bold flavors. With fresh veggies and tangy spicy sauce, you will love everything about this recipe.
- Healthy Alternative to Takeout: This recipe will be much better for you and your family than anything you get at a restaurant. Not only will you save money, but you are in control of what goes into your food!
- Quick and Easy: You could take 40 minutes to get this meal prepped at the beginning of the day so that when dinner time rolls around, you have dinner ready in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients Needed to Make the BEST Szechuan Beef
These are all the ingredients you’ll need to make the perfect tender beef smothered in an amazing sauce. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Flank Steak: Tender, juicy steak that cuts easily and cooks perfectly!
- Chinese Black Vinegar: Adds a sweet and sour note to the recipe. It can be found at your local Asian market or on Amazon.
- Soy Sauce: Works with Black vinegar to add tanginess and a bit of saltiness to the dish.
- Chinese Five Spice: A spice mixture of five or more spices used in Chinese cooking. Buy it here on Amazon or make this simple homemade Chinese Five Spice.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce.
- Vegetable Oil: Has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
- Vegetables: To give this meal plenty of colors, fresh flavor, and heartiness, we’re stirring in diced yellow onion, sugar snap peas, chopped broccoli, and sliced red bell peppers. However, if you prefer, feel free to switch any of these out with what you have in your fridge!
- Green Onion: Used as a garnish and adds a sweet onion flavor that brings the dish together.
- Garlic: Adds extra savory flavor.
- Szechuan Sauce: Use this homemade Szechuan sauce to make the flavor of this dish even more wonderful!
How to Make Szechuan Beef
This recipe for Szechuan beef is so simple! Mix your sauce, heat up your wok, and then cook all of your ingredients together! You’ll have a flavorful meal ready in no time. Here’s how:
- Slice the flank steak into ¼ inch slices about 3 inches long. Prep all your vegetables and set them aside.
- Mix the black vinegar, soy sauce, Chinese Five Spice, and cornstarch in a large freezer bag, then add the flank steak and shake to coat evenly. Let the steak marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the marinated steak to the wok and sear the beef until it is browned on each side. Don’t cook it too long; it will continue to cook with the vegetables.
- Remove the steak from the wok, and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil, onions, sugar peas, broccoli, and peppers. Sauté until the vegetables have begun to tenderize and the onions are transparent.
- Add the garlic and seared beef and sauté for a few minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour the Szechuan sauce over the steak and vegetables, stirring until the sauce evenly coats everything.
- Remove the Szechuan beef from the wok, serve it over rice, and garnish it with green onion. Enjoy!
Szechuan Beef Tips and Variations
This Szechuan beef recipe keeps things simple, but I’ve added a few extra tips and customization ideas for you. This is sure to be a new favorite dinner!
- Different Veggies: Feel free to swap out any of the vegetables used in this recipe with what you prefer and have in your fridge! For example, you can use carrots, water chestnuts, cauliflower, sprouts, or whatever you have on hand.
- Vinegar Substitution: If you don’t have Chinese black vinegar available, you can easily use balsamic vinegar for a similar tangy flavor.
- Avoid Overcrowding Pan: When you fry your beef and vegetables, don’t overcrowd your skillet or wok. Work in batches, if needed, so each piece has enough room to crisp up and develop caramelized edges.
Storing Leftovers
Chinese food makes great leftovers, and this Szechuan Beef is no different! Serve it with some convenient Minute Rice, and you have an easy, lunch the next day that tastes amazing.
- In the Refrigerator: Transfer the beef and veggies to an airtight container and store for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy them, reheat them over the stove or in the microwave until warmed.
What to Serve With Your Szechuan Beef
We all know how crazy dinner time can be. Trying to get your family around the table can be a challenge. If you want them begging for dinner together, here are a few options of what you could serve with your Szechuan beef! They will be so excited for dinner time with the family!
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Szechuan Beef
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 1 cup sugar snap peas cut in half
- 1 cup broccoli chopped
- 1 red bell peppers sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ⅔ cup Szechuan sauce
- 1 stalk green onion chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Slice the flank steak into ¼ inch slices about 3 inches long. Prep all your vegetables and set them aside.
- In a large freezer bag, mix together the black vinegar, soy sauce, Chinese Five Spice, and cornstarch. Add the flank steak to the bag and shake to coat evenly. Let the steak marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the marinated steak to the wok and sear the beef until it is browned on each side. Don’t cook it too long; it will continue to cook with the vegetables.
- Remove the steak from the wok, and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil, onions, sugar peas, broccoli, and peppers. Sauté until the vegetables have begun to tenderize and the onions are transparent.
- Add the garlic and seared beef and sauté for a few minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour the Szechuan sauce over the steak and vegetables, stirring until the sauce evenly coats everything.
- Remove the Szechuan beef from the wok, serve it over rice, and garnish it with green onion. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have a recipe for the 2/3 cup sauce?
Yes, sorry! I forgot to link it. You can find it here.
I made this and only one change is I used low sodium Coconut Aminos instead Soy sauce due to lowering salt intake for me. I prefer Soy sauce but I do what I have to do to keep my sodium intake lower. I loved this recipe and loved how easy to make! Thanks!
So happy you liked it!!
Excellent outcome so it has to be a good recipe
No sugar snap peas around so made a substitute
Very tasty delicious and easy to make