Best Ever Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry (plus 3 easy stir frying tips)

This Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry is such a reliable, trusty dinner recipe. It rivals anything you’ll find in a white paper takeout container. This one is fresher, more wholesome (because we choose what goes in it) and altogether more budget friendly. This whole gorgeous skillet of succulent Szechuan-style beef and veggies will easily feed four hungry souls when piled atop some fluffy cooked rice.

That said, if the souls you’re feeding happen to be VERY hungry – then I’d suggest going heavy on the ingredients. Sometimes I’ll make 1.5 X the recipe, or I’ll even double it, any leftovers being a welcome sight in the fridge (for up to three days after cooking, incidentally).

Cooking Tips for this Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry

• Aim for crispy outsides, and pink insides, and thank me later! The reason thi sdihs is always such a massive hit when I make it is due to the cooking of the beef. No one wants to eat little bits of beef that resemble the bottom of a worn-out old boot. Nope. So, they key is to quickly stir fry the beef in the beginning, just to kiss the outsides and get some crisp and color on them, pre-saucing. Make sure the insides stay nice and pink. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce and we don’t want to overdo anything. So, err on the side of caution (under-cooking). Because you can always cook the beef more, but you can’t un-cook it, you know?
• It’s okay if you can’t find Shaoxing wine as the ingredient list calls for – no worries. This Chinese cooking wine is an important addition to any serious home cook’s pantry if they want to level up their Chinese repertoire. But you can certainly achieve its slightly sweet punch of bright flavor with other things. Sherry works great – that’s my best rec – but so does brandy, actually. Want to save money? Then I say grab a bottle of the cheap “cooking sherry” at your store and give it not a thought. I may be the only person on the internet brave enough to say that it’s okay to use wine that you wouldn’t drink in your recipes. That’s not true all of the time (like, not in wine-based sauces like this Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon), but when you’re cooking with super flavorful things like soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil as well? You can definitely sneak in some “cooking wine” in place of the pricier stuff and be just fine. No one is going to be able to tell. No one is going to notice. Promise.
• As with any stir fry, this Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry recipe moves at break-neck speed. So, I highly recommend getting all of your ingredients chopped and ready to throw in the pan as needed. Grab a large tray or plate to use as a holding place for that beef while you stir fry the veggies. Instead of just adding each of the sauce ingredients individually to the pan (saving bowl, sure), we’re going to mix them together and then add that mixture in at once. This speeds things up, giving you greater control over the stir frying situation at hand.

Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry: What You’ll Need

This recipe list reads a little long, but trust that everything is either affordable or a pantry staple that you likely already have on hand. Please feel free to use any onion you like, as well as any color of peppers. Take not that even though there is ample soy sauce in the sauce, you still need to season the beef well. You may need to even add a pinch more salt to the finished dish to ensure that the flavor is CRACKING good.

Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, as needed
• 1.5 pounds stir fry beef strips (these are typically sold already sliced)
• Oil for cooking
• 1 medium onion, large diced (any color)
• 3 bell peppers, large diced (any colors)
• 1 bunch scallions, diced, white and green parts separated
• 1-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced/grated
• 5 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup sherry or Chinese Shaoxing wine (cooking sherry works as well)
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon chili crisp (store-bought)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Cooked Jasmine rice, for serving

How to make this Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry

This Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry recipe is so easy! We’ll be good and through with things before you know it, and you’ll only need to wash a few dishes. We love this here. Begin by tossing the beef in the seasoned cornflour and then crisping up in an oiled pan/wok. Transfer that beef elsewhere for the time being and then stir fry the veggies. Next? In goes the sauce. The cornstarch will thicken that beautifully, creating a glossy, flavorful concoction that perfectly coats every little bit.

Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, cumin, and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Toss the beef strips in the mixture, ensuring they’re nice and coated. 
2. Add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil into a large skillet or wok set over medium high to high heat. When it’s super hot, brown the beef in batches as needed, just until they’re crispy looking on the outsides but are still quite pink in the centers; only takes a minute or two. Transfer to a plate/tray for now and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and don’t wipe out the pan. Add a little more oil to the pan, followed by the scallion whites, peppers and onions. Stir fry until just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the browned bits/layer on the bottom of the pan (the fond) is looking too dark, go ahead and add about ¼ water and scrape it all up. This will contribute to the very best sauce.
4. Combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sherry/Shaoxing, sesame oil, chili crisp, and sugar. 
5. When the veggies are tender, pour the sauce into the skillet, along with 1 cup of water. Add the beef, along with any collected drippings, into the skillet and cook just long enough for the sauce to thicken and coat the meat; about 1 to 2 minutes. 
6. Serve your Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry over cooked rice, topped with the scallion greens.

If you like the looks of this Crispy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry, you might also enjoy:

Korean Style Beef with Kimchi

Chili Garlic Butter Steak and Mushroom Bites

Texas Style Oven Roasted Beef Brisket

Slow Cooker Japanese Beef with Udon

Coconut Red Curry Drip Beef

Amazing Peruvian Lomo Saltado

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