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When that craving for takeout hits, this 30-Minute Szechuan Chicken Stir Fry delivers. Crispy fried chicken and colorful veggies get tossed in a sweet and spicy Szechuan sauce that’s bold, flavorful, and so much better than anything you’d order in. It’s become one of our favorite stir fry recipes, and it comes together fast enough for any weeknight.
If you love quick Asian-inspired dinners, you’ll also want to try this Pork Stir Fry with Rice, classic Chicken Stir Fry, or this simple Vegetable Stir Fry.
What Is Szechuan Chicken?
Szechuan Chicken (sometimes called Laziji) comes from China’s Sichuan province. It’s a sweet and spicy dish made with marinated, fried chicken and a bold chili-based sauce. The flavors are big: spicy, a little sweet, and packed with garlic and ginger. Traditionally, it’s served over steamed white rice with dried chili peppers scattered throughout.
This stir fry version keeps all that signature flavor but adds colorful vegetables for a complete one-pan meal.
Before You Get Started
A few tips to set you up for success:
- Prep everything before you start cooking. Stir frying moves fast. Have your veggies sliced, sauce mixed, and chicken marinated before the pan heats up. This makes the whole process smooth and stress-free.
- Fry the chicken in batches. Crowding the pan causes steaming instead of browning. Work in smaller batches so each piece gets crispy and golden.
- Don’t skip the marinating step. Even a quick 10-minute soak in the cornstarch mixture helps the chicken stay tender and gives the sauce something to cling to.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
How To Make Szechuan Chicken Stir Fry
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth. Add the bite-sized chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly.
Set this aside while you prep everything else. The cornstarch coating is what gives the chicken that lightly crispy texture once fried.
Step 2: Mix the Szechuan Sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, soy sauce, chili paste (sambal oelek works great), rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. This sauce has a nice balance of heat, sweetness, and savory depth.
Set it aside for now.
- Spice Note: If you’re sensitive to spice, start with 1 tablespoon of chili paste. You can always add more heat at the end.
Step 3: Fry the Chicken
Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s very hot. Fry the chicken in batches, cooking each batch for 5 to 6 minutes until browned and mostly cooked through.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Hot Oil: The chicken should sizzle immediately when it hits the oil. If it doesn’t, let the oil heat up a bit more before adding the next batch.
Step 4: Stir Fry the Vegetables
Carefully drain most of the oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Return the wok to heat and add the ginger, garlic, and dried red chilies.
Stir fry for about a minute until fragrant.
Add the snap peas, bell peppers, green onions, and peanuts.
Stir fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. You want the vegetables to be crisp-tender with a little color, not soft.
Step 5: Bring It All Together
Return the fried chicken to the wok and toss everything together for 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, pour the sauce over everything, and toss to coat.
Let it simmer for about 3 minutes until the sauce thickens and glazes the chicken and vegetables. You’ll see it go from thin and liquidy to glossy and coating.
Serve over steamed white rice, garnished with extra green onions, sesame seeds, and chopped peanuts.
Optional: Make It Even Spicier
Traditional Szechuan Chicken often includes Sichuan peppercorns, which add a unique citrusy, numbing sensation. If you have them on hand, toss a teaspoon or two into the wok when you add the ginger and garlic.
You can also double the chili paste and dried chilies for serious heat. Just taste as you go so you don’t overdo it!
What to Serve With Szechuan Chicken
This stir fry is a full meal on its own over rice, but if you want to round things out, try pairing it with:
- Egg Fried Rice for a classic combo
- Pan Fried Noodles for something a little heartier
- Chicken Fried Rice if you want extra protein
Any of these make great sides, or you can serve the stir fry right over the noodles instead of rice.
What Else Can Be Made Szechuan-Style?
Since Szechuan-style is really about the sauce and flavor profile, you can use this same approach with other proteins and vegetables:
- Beef
- Shrimp
- Pork
- Meatballs
- Broccoli or mixed veggies
- Noodles
- Tofu
The sauce works beautifully on just about anything you’d stir fry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cut of chicken is best for stir fry?
Boneless, skinless chicken works best. Breasts and thighs both work well here. Thighs are more forgiving and stay juicy, but white meat is great too if you’re careful not to overcook it.
How do you know when the chicken stir fry is done?
The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. A digital meat thermometer takes the guesswork out of it. The pieces should be golden on the outside with no pink remaining inside.
Can I make this less spicy?
Absolutely. Start with just 1 tablespoon of chili paste and skip the red pepper flakes. You can also reduce the dried chilies or leave them out entirely. The dish will still have great flavor without as much heat.
What’s the difference between Szechuan chicken and General Tso’s chicken?
Both are sweet and spicy Chinese-American dishes, but Szechuan chicken tends to be spicier with a more complex, numbing heat (especially if you use Sichuan peppercorns). General Tso’s is usually sweeter and more saucy with a crispy battered coating. This stir fry version falls somewhere in between, with crispy fried chicken and bold Szechuan-style flavors.
What does Szechuan chicken taste like?
Szechuan chicken is spicy, slightly sweet, and packed with bold garlic and ginger flavor. The heat comes from chili paste and dried peppers, while a touch of brown sugar balances everything out. If you add Sichuan peppercorns, you’ll also get that signature numbing, tingly sensation.
More Asian-Inspired Dinners To Try
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
- Cashew Chicken and Broccoli
- Crockpot Orange Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken
- Hibachi Chicken and Vegetables
- Pineapple Beef Stir Fry
Szechuan Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into bite-sized pieces
For the Szechuan Sauce:
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons chili paste such as sambal oelek
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the Stir Fry:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 5-6 dried red chilies chopped
- 1 cup snap peas
- 1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 3 green onions chopped into 1-inch pieces, plus more for garnish
- 1/3 cup peanuts chopped
- 2 cups steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cornstarch, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate.
- In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, soy sauce, chili paste, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.
- Fry the chicken in batches until browned and mostly cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Drain oil from wok, reserving 2 tablespoons. Return wok with reserved oil to heat.
- Add ginger, garlic, and dried red chilies. Stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add snap peas, bell peppers, green onions, and peanuts. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes until crisp-tender.
- Return chicken to wok and stir fry 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, pour sauce over everything, and toss to coat. Simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Serve over steamed white rice, garnished with additional green onions, sesame seeds, and chopped peanuts.
Notes
- Prep ahead: Marinate the chicken and mix the sauce up to a day in advance. Store separately in the refrigerator.
- For less heat: Use 1 tablespoon chili paste and skip the red pepper flakes. Reduce or omit the dried chilies.
- For more heat: Add Sichuan peppercorns with the garlic and ginger, or double the chili paste.
- Chicken thighs work too: Swap breasts for boneless skinless thighs. They’re more forgiving and stay juicy.
- Don’t crowd the pan: Fry chicken in batches for the best crispy texture.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat to maintain texture.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
We really enjoyed this dish! We like things spicy, so I increased the Sambal Oelek and added a chopped jalapeno (mostly because I didn’t have any red chiles). We also like vegetables, so I added celery, carrots and broccoli along with the peppers, onions and peas.
I noticed that the recipe doesn’t list sesame oil, but I saw that in the earlier instructions and I’m glad that I did! I thought that it might be thin, but it thickened up quite nicely.
Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
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I have tried your way to cook Lazhiji but made a few changes:
I used chicken-on-the bone, Sichuan peppers, some chicken powder and self-roasted peanuts (not chopped, with skin)
Like that it is more like the people in Sichuan and Chongqing cook it; slight more flavorful and the specially spicy/numb taste.
My Chinese wife liked this recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback!
Made this and it was very good.Only thing we did different was to had more chicken broth.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Nancy.