Szechuan Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Szechuan chicken, a super quick and spicy stir fry that fizzes with Szechuan pepper and dried chilli flakes in a gloriously tasty sauce.

Taking under 15 minutes to cook, this recipe is the perfect Chinese fakeaway to cook at home and save you a few pennies.

Sichuan Chicken Stir Fry with Cashew Nuts

I have something of a reputation for producing the occasional Chinese or Indian takeaway or fakeaway recipe.

This gloriously tasty dish joins dishes like my ginger pork stir fry, chicken with black bean sauce, kung po prawns and Dan Dan noodles, a dish so good they named it twice!

This Szechuan chicken stir fry recipe is very much influenced by the classic kung pao chicken. My version is defined by the combination of dried chilli flakes and Szechuan pepper, which isn't actually pepper at all.

If you have never tried Szechuan pepper, you are in for a treat. It has the most wonderful fizz. I think of it as grown-up popping candy.

Be careful though, use too much and you will get a number tongue!

I love the stuff and use it all the time, this iteration joins other Szechuan recipes like Szechuan beef, Szechuan tofu and Szechuan prawns.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are lots of unfamiliar ingredients. Are there any substitutes?

Yes, there are a couple of ingredients that may not be in everyday use if you do not cook Chinese food often.

Here are some subs that can be made:

Shaoxing Wine: Gin, Dry Sherry.

Chinkiang Vinegar: 50/50 mix of balsamic & red wine vinegar, but use half as much as this recipe calls for.

Can I use chicken thighs?

Yes, it takes a little longer to prepare the chicken into long, evenly sized strips, but they work wonderfully well

I find Szechuan pepper gritty. How can I solve that?

Only the husk of Szechuan pepper is used. The black seed is not, but it can sometimes find its way into the packet. Although most of the time, it is just the nature of the spice.

The best way to treat it is to toast it first; this makes the husk more brittle and easier to crush. If you want to go even further, you can sieve the resulting pepper to get an even finer powder.

Serving Suggestions

More often than not, I serve this recipe with plain old boiled rice; egg fried rice works well too.

But this recipe is very much a "vegetable-free" zone. You can change that up really easily with a host of stir-fried vegetable recipes.

I have a a stir fried broccoli and a stir fried asparagus recipe that would be perfect with this Szechuan chicken.

You could, of course, run with mixed vegetable stir fry too!

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/stovetop.
• Wok.
• Stirring and serving spoons.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Pestle and mortar or spice grinder.
• Mixing and prep bowls.
• A combination of weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.