Sichuan Broccoli & Tofu (You can use this easy sauce on anything!)

This quick Sichuan broccoli and tofu is a simple stir-fried dish with a tasty Sichuan (also spelled Szechuan, Szechwan, or sometimes Schezuan) sauce you can whip up in just a few minutes. You can make extra sauce and keep it on hand for dipping as well!

What is Sichuan sauce? (Or Szechuan, Schezuan, etc.)

Sichuan sauce is a spicy sauce featuring garlic and ginger. The name comes from the Sichuan Province of China. Sichuan cuisine is known for its liberal use of chili peppers and garlic. Many dishes also feature anise.

If you can find some, try Sichuan peppercorns. (You can substitute black pepper for this recipe at short notice.) Sichuan peppercorns used to be contraband here in the U.S. (between 1968-2005), but fortunately for us, that is no longer the case.

Sichuan peppercorns actually make your mouth tingle and have a mild numbing effect. For this reason, you can enjoy the flavor of delicious spicy foods without them overwhelming you with heat.

This pepper has a citrusy flavor and bears a strong resemblance to black peppercorns, except they are usually pink or red.

Why were Sichuan peppercorns banned in the U.S.?

Fun fact: the active ingredient, sanshool, makes your lips vibrate at the same frequency as most power grids in the world (50 hertz). You can read all about Sichuan pepper here.

In 1968, the U.S. banned all citrus from China to prevent importing citrus canker, a bacterial disease that, while harmless to humans, decimates citrus trees and is highly contagious. Sichuan peppers are actually in the citrus family, not the pepper family. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was concerned that not just the fresh fruit and seedlings might be carrying this disease, but even the dried seed pods themselves.

The black market went wild with Sichuan peppercorns, making enforcement of this ban unrealistic. Eventually, in 2005, the USDA got rid of the ban, on the condition that Sichuan pepper be heated to at least 140° F for at least 10 minutes before being imported to kill any lingering bacteria. (This offended the farmers, but that’s another story. See the article from Slate linked above.)

Today, you don’t need to get on the wrong side of the law to try these popular peppers: they are on Amazon.

Sichuan Broccoli and Tofu Ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• 1 head of broccoli
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2/3 of a red onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 12-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
• 1/4 cup of liquid aminos or soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1-1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (for a refresher on how to peel ginger, check out my tallarin saltado recipe)
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or sugar, honey, etc. – I picked syrup so I didn’t have to stir it in until it dissolved)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• A few twists of freshly ground black pepper (or Sichuan peppercorns, if you can find them)
• 1 cup of rice (I used brown jasmine)
• 1 cup of water

Tools

• Pot for cooking the rice (I used an Instant Pot)
• Skillet for cooking everything else
• A spatula of some kind for turning and stirring the veggies
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Knife and cutting board
• A garlic press, or allow more time for mincing (N.B. this does not work for ginger. The juice comes out and then you have the fibers stuck in the press. Just use it for garlic and mince the ginger with a knife.)

How to Make Sichuan Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry

First, make the rice

1. To begin, start the rice. I used my Instant Pot, so I mixed equal parts water and brown rice with a pinch of salt and set it to pressure cook for 24 minutes. If you use white rice instead, you can just use the rice button, which pressure cooks for about 4 minutes. The proportions are the same. When it beeps to show that the rice is done, you can just turn the Instant Pot off and let it de-pressurize on its own.

Make the Sichuan Sauce

1. Then, begin the Sichuan sauce. First, peel and mince the ginger and the garlic. Place them in a small bowl.
2. After that, add in the soy sauce/liquid aminos, chili garlic sauce, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, toasted sesame oil, water, crushed red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Stir well to combine and set aside. Your Sichuan sauce is done!

Cook the tofu

1. Then, crisp your tofu. If you have a large skillet, you can slice the tofu into cubes and cook it all together until golden brown. However, I have a rather small skillet, so when I do that it’s hard to stir without overflowing. While the tofu gets cooked that way, it does not all turn out evenly golden and crispy. Instead, I sliced my block of tofu in half the long way so I had two slabs. Then, in a skillet over medium heat, I sprayed olive oil and let each slab of tofu cook about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Once crisped, you can set the slabs of tofu aside on a cutting board, let cool, and cut into cubes.

Cook the veggies and combine your Sichuan broccoli and tofu

1. Once the pan is empty, add in 1 Tbsp olive oil and the chopped red onion. Let the onion cook for a few minutes, then stir in the celery. After a few more minutes, when the celery has softened, add in the broccoli. Cook for a few more minutes, until the broccoli becomes vibrantly green and looks cooked.
2. Once the veggies are cooked enough, add back in the tofu cubes. Then, pour the Sichuan sauce over the whole thing. After that, let it cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally so everything gets a chance to soak up some sauce.
3. Finally, if everything is done to your satisfaction, scoop out some rice and cover it with your delicious Sichuan broccoli and tofu stir fry! Garnish with green onions if desired. Enjoy!

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Variations on this Sichuan Broccoli and Tofu Recipe

You can serve this dish over either rice or noodles, or on its own.

As with all stir fries, feel free to swap out ingredients based on what you have in your fridge. For example, you could use tempeh, carrots, asparagus, eggplant, peas, peppers, mushrooms, or whatever you can round up.

In addition, you can adjust the heat of this Sichuan sauce to your preference by changing the ratio of ingredients. The same goes for the sweetness. Feel free to use honey, sugar, maple syrup, or your sweetener of choice.

For a quicker meal, you can use ground ginger and garlic rather than fresh.

Many people dip chicken nuggets (plant-based or otherwise) in Sichuan sauce. Don’t feel limited to just using it on stir fries.

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I hope you like this recipe for Sichuan broccoli and tofu!