{"id":7686,"date":"2025-08-18T08:28:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/?p=7686"},"modified":"2025-08-18T08:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:49:18","slug":"spicy-szechuan-beef-stir-fry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/index.php\/dinner\/beef-dinner\/spicy-szechuan-beef-stir-fry\/","title":{"rendered":"Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A beautiful and simple Stir Fry filled with wonderful flavors and tingly Szechuan Peppercorns that truly brings the heat! This is a dish that we created by combining all the best elements of two popular dishes \u2013 Kung Pao Chicken and Steak au Poivre (otherwise known as Peppercorn Steak). A brilliant Spicy Szechuan beef Stir Fry is the result! Every mouthful brings epic flavors and loads of spice. This is a \u2018must-try\u2019 dish for any fans of spicy food!

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Jump to Recipe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The combination of flavors in this Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry is what makes it so special<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you think about the inspiration for this dish being Steak au Poivre<\/a> and Kung Pao Chicken<\/a> you would think these dishes are miles apart. One being from the Szechuan province in China, the other a classic French Bistro favorite

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However, the unique binding flavor(s) in both dishes is their absolute love for using Pepper. We took the best elements of each of these dishes and prioritized Peppercorns as the star ingredient and the results are truly amazing

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The Steak in this Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry is prepared in a similar way to the classic French Steak au Poivre recipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Steak is prepared like that of Steak au Poivre<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Steak Au Poivre is a piece of Steak (typically Tenderloin \/ Filet) that is coated in a wonderful mixture of Peppercorns before it is cooked to perfection in the frying pan. To finish a Steak Au Poivre, Cream is added to the pan along with some booze (eg Brandy) to soak up those peppery flavors and create a luxurious Sauce

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For our Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry we utilize the first half of the cooking techniques for Steak Au Poivre. That is, coating the Filet Steak in a wonderful mixture of Ground Black Peppercorns, Ground Szechuan Peppercorns, and Salt

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The Steak is then cooked to a perfect medium rare in the frying pan over a medium high heat. If you are using 8 oz. thick-cut Beef Filets (which are an absolute must for this dish), cook the Steak for 4 minutes on each side (so 8 minutes in total) then sear off the remaining sides for about 30 seconds each. This will yield a perfect medium rare. Remove the Steak from the pan at around 115 \u2013 120F and it\u2019ll be perfect

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Use 8 oz. Thick Cut Beef Tenderloin \/ Filets for the best results in this recipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We highly recommend using the 8 oz. Thick-Cut Filet for this dish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For two main reasons: The cooking time outlined above and in our recipe below will be perfect and almost guarantees a medium rare cook. Also, the Peppercorn to Beef Ratio will be spot on, as the thicker cut of Meat is going to offset the (seemingly) aggressive levels of Peppercorns added

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If you are using small cuts of Beef, we recommend scaling back the amount of Peppercorn crust to use. This dish can run a serious risk of becoming completely overloaded with Pepper, so it\u2019s best to air on the side of caution

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You can also reduce the amount of Pepper that is added to the Stir Fry towards the end of the recipe. It\u2019s always better to under season and taste as you cook than over seasoning. You can always add a bit more Salt and Pepper if needed, but its much more difficult to remove it once it\u2019s added to the dish!

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The Stir Fry elements of this dish are modelled off the famous Kung Pao Chicken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stir Fry is prepared just like Kung Pao Chicken<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kung Pao Chicken is one of my favorite dishes, not just stir fries. It\u2019s rich, sweet and spicy flavors pair perfectly with a nicely cooked protein like Chicken or Steak. So, once your Steak is prepared it can just rest away while we prepare the Stir Fry which is inspired by Kung Pao Chicken

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There are two components to the stir fry. The first is assembling and cooking the Stir Fry Ingredients, a classic combination of Onion, Scallions, Garlic, Ginger, and Chilis. The second component is adding a sauce once the Stir Fry Ingredients are cooked which will add the sweet and salty flavors and give the dish its body and texture

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It\u2019s a very simple process. Into a hot pan (or Wok if you have one) goes the Onions, Garlic, Ginger, and Dried Chilis over a high heat. They\u2019ll cook quickly, so have your Sauce prepared before you begin cooking

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A luxurious Sauce is added to the Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry to bind everything together, giving it a luxurious texture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Adding the Sauce and finishing the delicious Spicy Szechuan Beef Stir Fry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Sauce is a combination of classic Asian Ingredients: Soy Sauce, Chinese Cooking Wine, Chinese Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Corn Starch, and Brown Sugar. Once it goes into the stir fry it\u2019s going to cook quickly, especially with the Sugar that\u2019s in there

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After a few minutes the Sauce will thicken and turn into a luxuriously velvety texture. It\u2019ll easily coat to the Vegetables and will resemble almost a caramel-type quality. At this point the dish is done and it\u2019s ready for serving

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You can either slice up the Beef and mix it into the Stir Fry at this point along with a handful of Roasted Peanuts (a staple in Kung Pao dishes!). Or, for some fancy presentation you can slice the Beef and serve it atop individual bowls of Stir Fry ready for serving

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