This quick and easy Szechuan Style Beef Stirfry will be one of the best beef and Chinese vegetable dishes you’ll make this year. With meltingly tender strips of juicy beef, dripping in a sweet and spicy szechuan sauce.
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Using real Szechuan peppercorns to recreate an authentic Chinese takeout favourite at home in around 15 minutes. Just like this Healthy Teriyaki Chicken you can make in 15 minutes too!
The combination of ingredients is so flavourful and rich, there’s no marinating of the meat required.
This isn’t just any Chinese beef stirfry. Its savoury, spicy and sweet all at the same time and will leave your tastebuds singing.
Why Make This Recipe
- There’s no deep frying, and the meat is soft and tender
- Its fresh, aromatic, and full of zingy favours that will leave you wanting more
- There are loads of veges – feel free to use whatever you have on hand
- The sauce is rich, complex and sticks to the meat
- No pre work to marinate the meat
- Easy to swap out the Beef for Chicken or Pork
- This is dinner under 500 calories
Ingredients
Making dinners under 500 calories is my specialty, with many of my most popular being low calorie chicken recipes, low calorie meal prepping recipes and low calorie slow cooker recipes.
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: I used Rump Steak that I cut into thin slices. Alternatively you could buy the already cut beef strips, however I find that they are generally too thick, and so prefer to cut my own even though it’s a bit more work.
- Szechuan Pepper: When you buy them, they tend to come as whole peppercorns. I’ve never seen it come already ground, however grounding this spice is super easy and only took a minute to do in my mortar and pestle. If you don’t already own one, you can pick up a mortar and pestle from a kitchenware shop, or even the supermarket pretty cheaply. You could also use a coffee grinder to grind spices if you have one.
- Chinese Five Spice: this is a common spice available in the spice aisle at all major supermarkets and an essential flavour to round out the dish.
- Oil: Canola, sunflower, coconut, peanut can be substituted. Basically use whatever you have on hand, even if it’s a spray oil.
- Veges: If you can’t find Asian vegetables, use what is available near you – Kale, cabbage, spinach, regular broccoli, even carrots diced up. Anything goes!
- Garlic and Ginger: try to use fresh if you can, but I’ve made it with the garlic and ginger paste in jars as well and it still tastes great.
- Almonds: You can lightly toast the almonds or leave them untoasted. Both options work, but toasting them does bring a nice bit or extra flavour. To toast, preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F), spread almonds on a baking tray and bake for 3 – 4 minutes.
Check out this Chinese Garlic Beef and Broccoli for another quick and healthy low calorie stir fry.
How To Make
- Heat Wok and Brown Meat: Heat wok over high heat and add half the vegetable oil. Add the meat and stirfry for 3 to 4 minutes until brown. Remove from wok onto a plate and set aside.
- Add Aromatics to Wok: Add remaining oil to wok and add the red onion, stirfrying for 1 minute. Add the beef back to the wok, along with ginger, garlic, five spice, and Sichuan pepper and stirfry until fragrant.
- Add Vegetables: Add the greens and stirfry for a further 2 minutes until vegetables just begin to soften.
- Add Sauces: Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce, stirring through until heated.
- Serve: Serve immediately with your favourite rice and almonds and shallots scattered on top.
Where to Buy Szechuan Peppercorns
I haven’t been able to find this spice in mainstream supermarkets (Coles and Woolworths) in Australia. Instead, I buy mine from the local Deli shop that has fresh fruits, vegetables, preserved meats, pickles, jars of fermented things and lots of spices.
Of course Asian grocers would likely also stock this spice, but if you don’t want to make a special trip, you can buy the same one I used online here (Aus link), or another one I have also used here (Aus link) and here if you’re in the US or here for UK.
How To Store Szechuan Peppercorns
After you’ve opened your packet of Szechuan peppercorns, its best to store them in an air tight container for upto 6 months. Any crushed pepper should be discarded as it wont keep well and will loose its fragrance.
Szechuan Peppercorn Substitute
If you want to make a Szechuan style beef and vegetable stirfry but don’t have the right peppercorns, or you’d rather not make a trip out, there is a cheats way to make something similar by combining a few other spices together.
Use equal amounts of peppercorns and coriander seeds and grind together. I find pink peppercorns are great for this as they are a little fruity and zingy, however black peppercorns will also work.
It won’t be exactly the same, and wont have the same fragrance or punch of actual Szechuan peppercorn, but it’s a great substitute when you can’t get your hands on the real thing.
If you’re looking for even more complexity with the peppercorn substitute, try adding a little very finely zested lemon into the mix.
Recipe Tips
- Szechuan Pepper: Its best to grind the pepper as you need it to bring out that floral peppery sweetness.
- Buying the Beef: You don’t need an expensive cut of meat for this dish. In actual fact, a cut of meat with a little bit of fat on it is better as it adds to the flavour. I love to use a Rump Steak, or Flank Steak and cut it into strips myself. You could buy meat that’s already cut into strips, but I find its always thicker than what I would like.
- Cutting the Beef: To keep the beef super tender, make sure to cut in fine strips, using a sharp knife. The sharper your knife, the easier it will be to slice the meat. Try to slice against the grain, aiming for pieces that are around 2 inches long and 2 – 3 mm in thickness.
- Cooking: You don’t need a wok or gas to make this recipe. You can make it with a regular skillet or pot and electric stove. I have an induction hotplate and it works great.
- Meal Prep: this recipe is great for low calorie meal prepping!
To Serve
- Jasmine Rice
- Your favourite pre-cooked noodles (ramen, singapore, udon)
- Cauliflower rice
- Or - eat as is because its packed with veges and its Filling!
Other Quick & Easy Asian Dinners:
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Fish
- Quick Cashew Nut Chicken
- 15 minute Yellow Fish Curry
- Easy Salmon Stirfry
- Thai Chicken Meatballs in Satay Sauce
Szechuan Style Beef
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 500 grams /1 pound lean beef fillet - fat trimmed, thinly sliced
- 1 medium Red onion (cut into wedges
- 2 cloves Garlic - crushed
- 3 cm piece Ginger - grated
- 1 ½ teaspoon Sichuan Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- 1 bunch Choy Sum - cut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 bunch Bok Choi - cut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 bunch Broccolini cut into 5cm lengths
- ⅓ cup Oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Light soy sauce
To Serve
- 2 cups Jasmine rice
- 2 tablespoons Slivered Almonds
- 2 Green shallots, - sliced
Instructions
- Heat wok over high heat and add half the vegetable oil. Add the meat and stirfry for 3 to 4 minutes until brown. Remove from wok onto a plate and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to wok and add the red onion, stirfrying for 1 minute. Add the beef back to the wok, along with ginger, garlic, five spice, and Sichuan pepper and stirfry until fragrant.
- Add the greens and stirfry for a further 2 minutes until vegetables just begin to soften.
- Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce, stirring through until heated.
- Serve immediately with your favourite rice and almonds and shallots scattered on top.
Notes
- Beef: I used Rump Steak that I cut into thin slices. Alternatively you could buy the already cut beef strips, however I find that they are generally too thick, and so prefer to cut my own even though it’s a bit more work.
- Sichuan Pepper: I buy mine in whole peppercorns, which I ground using a mortar and pestle. If you can’t find this spice in the supermarkets you may need to check out the more specialised Deli supermarkets which is where I found mine. I didn’t have to make a special trip to the Asian grocer, although that would certainly be an option . Grounding this spice is super easy and only took a minute to do. If you don’t already own one, you can pick up a mortar and pestle from a kitchenware shop, or even the supermarket pretty cheaply. Store this spice in an air tight container and it will last for a long time.
- Chinese Five Spice: this is a common spice available in the spice aisle at all major supermarkets and an essential flavour to round out the dish.
- Oil: Canola, sunflower, coconut, peanut can be substituted. Basically use whatever you have on hand, even if it’s a spray oil.
- Veges: If you can’t find Asian vegetables, use what is available near you – Kale, cabbage, spinach, regular broccoli, even carrots diced up. Anything goes!
- Garlic and Ginger: try to use fresh if you can, but I’ve made it with the garlic and ginger paste in jars as well and it still tastes great.
- Almonds: You can lightly toast the almonds or leave them untoasted. Both options work, but toasting them does bring a nice bit or extra flavour. To toast, preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F), spread almonds on a baking tray and bake for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Nutritional Information: the nutritional information includes 2 cups of steamed Jasmine rice. If not included, overall calories er serve would be less.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
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