Szechuan Chicken is a delicious, easy to make stir-fry with chicken, bell peppers, green onions and nuts cooked in an Asian-inspired sauce.
If you enjoy making delicious, classic meals at home for a fraction of the cost of what a restaurant would charge for the same dish, may I suggest this recipe for Szechuan chicken? The recipe requires using two chicken breasts, a red and green bell pepper, green onions, and some chopped nuts. Cook them in a simple Asian sauce, combine them, and serve over rice or noodles. BOOM! You just made a tasty, classic Chinese dish for 4 people!
We enjoy this dish, and because it is made using only one skillet, I find it pretty easy to make, when we get hungry for Chinese food! I have no recollection of how or when I got this recipe, but found it in an old recipe box years ago, where the recipe was cut out and taped onto a 3×5″ index card. So I truly don’t know who I can give credit to for this yummy dish… BUT, I think you’re going to love it! Here’s how to make it.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Prepare The Chicken For Marinating
You will need two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The recipe calls for 16 ounces of chicken, so two large 8 ounce breasts will be perfect. Slice the chicken breasts across the width of the breast, holding a sharp knife almost parallel to the surface (angled at a slant). Cut each chicken breast into 1/4″ slices, then put the slices into a medium-sized bowl, and set aside.
Now it’s time to make the sauce which is used to marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, ginger, sugar, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Stir until the sauce is smooth, with no lumps.
Pour the sauce over the chicken slices, and toss until the chicken slices are coated with sauce. Once fully coated, set the chicken aside to marinate in the sauce while you pan-sear the other ingredients.
Preparing The Pan-Seared Veggies And Nuts
Slice six green onions (bulb and stalk) into 2″ long pieces. Remove the stem and seeds from the bell peppers, and cut them into “bite-sized” pieces. Heat ONE Tablespoon of oil over Medium-High heat in a large (10-12 inch) skillet. Once oil is hot, but not smoking, add the green onions and bell peppers to the skillet.
Stir often until the veggies are “tender-crisp” in texture. This usually takes only about 2 minutes! Transfer the veggies out of the skillet into a bowl, using a slotted spoon (so excess oil can drip back into skillet).
Add 2 more Tablespoons of oil to skillet and heat until hot once again on Medium heat. Add chopped cashews (or dry roasted peanuts if using) to the hot oil, and cook (stirring frequently) only until the nuts are lightly browned. Transfer the browned nuts to the bowl of cooked veggies using a slotted spoon.
Cooking The Szechuan Chicken
Now it’s time to quickly cook the marinated chicken and sauce. You will use the same skillet for this (and any leftover oil in the skillet). Heat remaining oil in skillet over high heat until HOT but not smoking. Add the chicken mixture to the hot oil, and cook, stirring frequently. Continue to cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until it is cooked through and no longer pink in color.
Quickly add the veggies and nuts (plus any accumulated juices in the bowl) back into the skillet, and stir to combine. Heat on medium heat until all ingredients are heated through (a couple minutes). When thoroughly heated through, the dish is ready to serve!
Serving Szechuan Chicken
We really enjoy serving the Szechuan chicken on top of a bed of steamed rice! TIP: If you begin cooking the rice at the beginning of your prep time for this recipe, it should be ready to go when you’re ready to serve. The bed of rice is optional, but I highly recommend it, as it pairs very well with this chicken dish!
Transfer the Szechuan chicken to individual plates, then lightly sprinkle the surface of each portion with sesame seeds, if desired, for a nice finishing touch! Serve the Szechuan chicken immediately (while hot), and enjoy this tasty dish! I really hope you enjoy it, because it has great flavor and color! It’s not too spicy and really tastes amazing!
I hope you have the opportunity to try this delicious Asian-style main dish. If you have any leftovers, they can be refrigerated for 2-3 days and easily reheated in a microwave. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you will come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, and have a GREAT day!
Looking For More ASIAN-STYLE Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have a wonderful variety of Asian-style recipes for you to enjoy, including:
- Easy Cashew Chicken
- Simple Szechuan Shrimp
- Vegetarian Spicy Noodles in Peanut Sauce
- Orange Beef Stir Fry
Interested In More Recipes?
Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so. If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.
You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks
Original recipe source: unknown (found recipe cut out & taped onto a 3×5 card in an OLD recipe box)
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Szechuan Chicken is a delicious, easy to make stir-fry with chicken, bell peppers, green onions and nuts cooked in an Asian-inspired sauce.
- 16 ounces chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) = approx. two 8 oz. chicken breasts
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 green onions
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil DIVIDED USE
- ½ cup chopped cashews can substitute dry roasted peanuts
- sesame seeds (OPTIONAL) sprinkle as garnish, if desired
Slice chicken across the width of the breast, using a sharp knife almost parallel to the surface (angled at a slant). Cut each chicken breast into 1/4" slices; put slices in a medium bowl; set aside.
Make sauce: In separate bowl, combine soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, ginger, sugar, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Stir until smooth (no lumps). Pour sauce over chicken; toss until slices are coated with sauce. Set chicken aside.
Slice green onions (bulb and stalk) into 2" pieces. Remove stem/seeds from bell peppers, then cut into "bite-sized" pieces.
Heat ONE Tablespoon oil on medium-High heat in a large (10"-12") skillet. Once oil is hot, but not smoking, add green onions/bell peppers. Cook, stirring often until veggies are "crisp-tender" (about 2 minutes). Transfer veggies from skillet to a bowl, using slotted spoon (so excess oil can drip back into skillet).
Add TWO Tablespoons of oil to skillet and heat on Medium heat. Add cashews (or dry roasted peanuts) to hot oil. Cook (stirring frequently) only until nuts are lightly browned. Transfer nuts to bowl of cooked veggies using slotted spoon.
Heat remaining oil in skillet on high heat until HOT but not smoking. Add chicken mixture and cook, stirring frequently. Continue to cook chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink in color. Quickly add reserved veggies and nuts (plus any juices) back into the skillet; stir to combine. Cook on medium heat 2-3 minutes or until all ingredients are heated through. Once fully heated, the dish is ready to serve!
We enjoy serving Szechuan chicken on top of a bed of steamed rice! The bed of rice is optional, but I recommend it. Transfer Szechuan chicken to individual plates, then lightly sprinkle each portion with sesame seeds, if desired, Serve immediately, and enjoy
NOTE: Caloric calculation does NOT include rice or noodles that may be served with the chicken.
Here’s another to pin on your Pinterest boards!