Szechuan Sauce is a hot and spicy sauce used in Chinese cuisine and was briefly released by McDonals in 1998. How to Make Your Own McDonalds Szechuan Sauce? Easy, even easier than you think!
Care for another McDonals copycat? try this amazing Big mac sauce for your next burger.
This gluten free szechuan sauce is for you, my fellow spicy food fanatics out there🔥😍. How to know if you are one? here are some facts:
- You keep checking the store condiments aisle for new hot sauce(s) to try out.✅
- Have a special shelf in your fridge for all your hot sauce, Frank’s, Sriracha and Tabasco.✅
- If you go to the Asian store often, even if it is miles away, to try their new varieties.✅
- Have all sorts of dry chilis in your spice cabinet.✅
- You are not excited about any food unless it gets you those little beads of sweat on your forehead.✅
What is Szechuan sauce ?
Szechuan, Szechwan or Sichuan is a province in southwest China. Their cuisine is best described as bold and spicy 🌶 due to their excessive and liberal use of the Szechuan pepper.Authentic szechuan sauce recipe uses Sichuan peppercorn powder and A LOT of red chilies and garlic. I was not able to locate Sichuan peppercorn here but we can manage with our resources right?.
After googling, a youtube recipe was found. According to Andrew, the best sauce was this one on reddit.
This reddit recipe was good and all but unfortunately, it had plum sake in it which is something we do not consume🤷. So I had to improvise a bit to get the best no-alcohol Szechuan sauce and I did.
Szechuan sauce FAQs:
What does Szechuan sauce taste like?
Szechuan sauce is a very well balanced dipping sauce. It carries sweet and savory flavors with loads of heat there. Someone described it as having your sweet-and-sour chicken all mixed up with soy sauce and extra heat😋.
What is Szechuan sauce made of?
Here are my Szechuan sauce ingredients :
- Soy sauce, preferably low sodium and gluten free.
- Red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar : I like using a combination of both for flavor and to make up for the missed plum sake.
- Fresh ginger : yes please, it is Chinese after all!
- Garlic: a lot of it actually because that’s what Szchuan flavors are coming from.
- Chili garlic sauce: or anything you have like Tabasco or Sriracha.
- Corn starch and chicken broth : to give volume and thicken the sauce for dipping.
- Brown sugar: this is optional for more sweetness but I found that the sauces I am using have enough sugar already.
- Sesame seeds or Chili flakes for garnishing.
How to store Szechuan sauce?
This sauce can be kept in fridge for up to 2 months and freezes very well too.
Szechuan sauce recipe:
Ingredients:
I’ve included brown sugar, not pictured above, in the ingredient list below. Use more or less depending on your liking. You may also substitute any other sweetener of choice.
Homemade Szechuan sauce:
Szechuan sauce makes a very good dipping or stir-fry sauce.Let’s see how simple and easy this is.
- In a small sauce pan combine soy sauce, vinegar(s), chili sauce, ginger, garlic and brown sugar if using. Taste to make sure the seasonings are right for you.
- Bring mixture to a low boil. Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the broth.
- Add to the saucepan and mix well.
- Simmer until it thickens, and that’s it.
This hot and spicy sauce will jazz up any boring meal. It is perfect for putting a new twist on your favorite chili recipe or stir-fry. Coat Buffalo cauliflower wings with Szechuan Sauce and bake . Spice up your noodle or rice bowl, I can imagine it over many dishes. Think Pizza, sandwiches, burgers and even morning scrambled eggs.. a spicy kick in every meal.
You may need:
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This Kikkoman gluten free soy sauce is my favorite. Not only it balances sweet and savory flavors, it is made the old-fashioned way.
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Szechuan sauce recipe
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Szechuan Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 large garlic cloves.
- 1.5 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and minced.
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar.
- 2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
- 2 Tablespoons asian chili-garlic sauce, or any gluten free hot sauce.
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce.
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium.
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch.
- Optional: Red pepper or sesame seeds for garnishing.
- 2 ablespoons brown sugar or any sweetner you like. optional
Instructions
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the first 6 ingredients and bring to a light boil.
- Mix broth and cornstarch well.
- Stir the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan until it thickens, took mine about a couple of minutes.
Can I make a batch of this and freeze it in portions?
Geraldine, I’ve never tried this before.
I cannot wait to make this sauce for my family for our Easter lunch. I will put this sauce over shrimps and sausage..I hope it will taste great when I make it Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Xtine, thank you so much for trying this recipe. I hope you’ll like it, just a side note, this is a hot recipe so watch out if your have kids around. Let me know how it went with you.
Tried this recipe twice already and We liked it so much. I have a husband who is crazy about spicy food and wants it over everything. Thank you.
Thank you Emily, so pleased you enjoyed this.
Thank you for this great recipe, Amira! I have one question, though. I’ve been using honey for almost everything as a sweeter. Do you think honey would work, instead of brown sugar or would it lose some of the richness?
Mason, I do not see why not. The consistency might be a little bit watery than using sugar but I do not see that as a problem. Let me know if you have any more questions.
I have been away from blogging… and even following my favorite bloggers such as yourself, for a while now. This sauce looks wonderful… and does the McDonald sauce. Gonna PIN both of these!! ; O )
Cecile, Thank you for your sweet comment, I hope you are doing great in Florida now and you’ll continue soon sharing your sweet recipes and adventures in the kitchen.