Szechuan beef shred or Dried fried beef shreds(干煸牛肉丝),literally named as Sautéed Shredded Beef in Chili Sauce, is another famous dish from Sichuan cuisine that everyone Sichuan food lover should at least try it once.
The cooking method of this dish is called as dry frying, which is also used in another famous Sichuan dish Szechuan green beans. Beef shreds are fried firstly to remove the water before adding spices and seasonings. This process helps the beef to absorb the aroma of seasonings and thus endow the final dish with a much stronger flavor. If you love dry frying, check dry fried cauliflower too.
Have a look at the ingredients firstly.
There are generally two side ingredients used: one is carrot and the other one is celery. For me, I prefer celery.
Tips:
- I do not recommend making a large amount at one time until you are quite confident about your fire and stir frying skills.
- Marinate the beef shreds with oil can help to prevent the beef shreds becomes dried out during the dry frying process.
- Put the seasonings according to the order.
Heat up your wok or pan firstly for around 2 minutes and then add around 2 tablespoons cooking oil to heat until the oil is really hot.
Add beef shreds in. Stir fry for around 1 to 2 minutes over high fire, you will see there is sauce coming out in your wok. Pour the sauce out and transfer the beef shreds to one side of your wok or pan. Make sure there is no extra liquid in your pan or wok. Add around 1/2 tablespoon oil to fry the ginger shreds, green onion shreds and dried chili pepper sheds until aroma over medium fire.
Add doubanjiang in to stir fry for the red oil. Mix everything well. Spread chili pepper powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder and sesame seeds. Toss quickly and make sure all the ingredients are combined completely.Add celery sections in and continue cook for around 1 minute.
- ½ pound beef
- 1 cup of celery sections (around 5 cm long) or as needed
- 5 chili dried pepper, cut into shreds and remove the seeds
- 2 green onion whites, cut into sections around 5 cm long
- 1 inch root ginger, shreds
- 1 tablespoon doubanjiang
- 1 teaspoon chili pepper powder or as needed
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- Put the beef in refrigerator for about 30 minutes and cut into small and long shreds.
- In a large mixing bowl, well combine beef shreds and marinating ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat up your wok or pan firstly for around 2 minutes and then add around 2 tablespoons cooking oil to heat until the oil is really hot.
- Add beef shreds in. Stir fry for around 1 to 2 minutes over high fire, you will see there is sauce coming out in your wok. Pour the sauce out and transfer the beef shreds to one side of your wok or pan.
- Add around ½ tablespoon oil to fry the ginger shreds, green onion shreds and dried chili pepper sheds until aroma over medium fire.
- Add doubanjiang in to stir fry for the red oil. Mix everything well.
- Spread chili pepper powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder and sesame seeds. Toss quickly and make sure all the ingredients are combined completely.
- Add celery sections in and continue cook for around 1 minute.
- Transfer out and serve hot!
Now I don’t have to make my dinner plan. I just simply follow you. 🙂
Thanks Vicky for your trust. I am so honored!As a foodie, I am enjoying my daily homemade food. Hope you like them as me too.
Tried & satisfied
I love your site. I just came upon it by chance and I am dying to try some of your recipes.
Could you please tell me what doubanjiang is?
Hi Margaret,
Doubanjiang is a type of chili sauce made with broad bean. It is the featured sauce used in real Szechuan cuisine. Go ahead https://chinasichuanfood.com/doubanjiang/ to find my detailed introduction about Chinese doubanjiang.
Just made this for the family. Fantastic dish! Will definitely cook it again.
Glad to know you like it David. This is one of my favorite Sichuan style dishes.
I am a lover of Asian food. I am always looking for authentic recipes. I don’t enjoy dishes that have been
altered to American Chinese flavors. These recipes, your cooking instructions and ingrediants have enriched my love of cooking, the palates of my friends and family and my love of all things Asian.
You are a true gift !!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING.
Thanks Katie for much kind words and They really made my day!!! My primal purpose for starting this site is to share authentic recipes not infused ones. And I am glad to have you here. Wish you a happy time in your kitchen.
I once had a sichuan chicken dish (many years ago) and haven’t been to find it again. It was chicken, peanuts, scallions and chili’s in a brown, spicy, numbing sauce. Was this just a variation on one of your sichuan chicken dishes on your site, or a different recipe altogether? ?? Would absolutely love to taste it again … thank you for your great site!!
Hi Andy,
Do you know the name of the dish? Is it Kung Pao Chicken? Can I check out whether it is similar to this one https://chinasichuanfood.com/kung-pao-chicken/?
Love your site, can you be my mentor? Am a chef in training and my focus is on Chinese cuisine. Would you be of help? Contact me via my email.
Hi Yemisi,
Thanks for your kind words. As you known that I am based in China so we possibly do not have any chance to meat. I would love to help and I do not know how. I will keep all of my Chinese recipes on the blog and you can learn from them directly.
Hi,
this website is great, we already tried the doubled-cooked pork, it was delicious. Now we’d like to try the Szechuan beef stir-fry. Which sort of beef do you recommend?
Best Regards, Y&H
Thans Y&H for stopping by and let me know you love my double cooked pork recipe, as it is really one of my favorite. Happy cooking and I wish this works great for you too.
Hi there,
I’m so glad I found your site! I used to live in China and since returning to the Scotland I have really missed real Chinese food and I can’t wait to try these recipes and feel like I’m back in Sichuan 🙂
I was wondering what kind of cooking wine do you use? is it BaiJiu you are using?
Hi Zoe,
Chinese cooking wine is referring to liaojiu (料酒).
I noticed that after frying the beef shreds, the sauce is poured out. That sauce is the marinada. Is it discarded?
Thanks
In order to make this as a dry fried beef shreds, we need to pour the sauce out. I just discard them. But I guess it should taste great with soups or noodles.
First I want to thank you for enabling me to re-create the dishes I learned to love in Sichuan.
Second thank you for letting me know why I was almost dying during my time in Sichuan because my intestines killed me up to hospitalization although I don’t mind chili usually – I am allergic to broad bean. I didn’t know it was in so many of the dishes I ate. I am now recreating a variation of doubanjiang without broad bean (so basically just the soybeans and spices and I add smoked rice for the flavor). It still tastes similar and it doesn’t hurt me anymore 🙂
Amazing recipe Elaine – here in UK most Chinese restaurants sell a crispy shredded beef with chilli but basically its beef shreds in a light batter deep fried then tossed in a wok with carrot shreds & a mild sweet chilli sauce.
I always find it disappointing as I love the spicy numbing heat of Szechuan cuisine. Here in UK its hard to get Szechuan style food basically all the restuarants are Hong Kong / Guangdong except in London’s ‘china town’ (around Gerard Street) but I really love Shui Zhu Beef. extra spicy & amazing I’m going to treat myself to this recipe this weekend my mouth is drooling like the chicken!!!!!
Thank you Alan. I hope you will like this one after trying.
Delicious recipe! I followed the instructions exactly as written, and it came out looking just like the pictures. Plus, it got 2 thumbs up from the family. Will definitely make again!
Thanks Rebecca,
It is such a lovely comment, making the day quite sunny.
Hello Elaine, there are many types of dried red chilis, what type do you use in this recipe. Also same question about red chili powder. I have to laugh when looking at recipes like this because people just say chili this or chili that when in fact there are literally hundreds of chilis in dried form as well as powdered.
Hi Larry,
I usually use three types of chili peppers, all of them are from Sichuan province. And the most popular one and the one I use in this recipe is this one.