Sichuan / American Chinese Recipe
Sichuan-Style Beef Stir-Fry
Sichuan beef on Chinese American menus usually means sliced beef in a spicy sauce with vegetables, garlic, ginger, and chile bean paste or chile oil.
Recipe at a glance
| Purpose | High-frequency Chinese restaurant menu dish |
| Cuisine or format | Sichuan / American Chinese |
| Menu variation rule | Protein may be adjusted without creating a separate recipe family. |
Ingredients
- 12 oz sliced beef
- 2 cups vegetables such as celery, peppers, carrots, or cabbage
- 1 tablespoon doubanjiang or chile paste
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup stock or water
- Sichuan peppercorn, optional
- Cornstarch slurry
Method
- Marinate beef lightly with soy sauce and cornstarch.
- Stir-fry beef quickly and remove.
- Fry doubanjiang, garlic, ginger, and optional Sichuan peppercorn.
- Add vegetables.
- Add stock, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Return beef.
- Thicken lightly.
Variations and substitutions
- For chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, tofu, or mixed seafood variants, keep the same sauce logic and adjust the cooking time for the protein.
- For allergies or religious dietary needs, check sauces, broth, wrappers, cooking wine, and shared wok or fryer use.
- For takeout-style dishes, sauce texture matters: the sauce should coat the food rather than become a thin soup.