I was 9 when Szechuan sauce graced sauce pumps across the nation, so naturally, I can't remember at all what it tastes like. But with the help of some actual Szechuan sauce (like, the stuff from Sichuan), a Redditor's diligent recreation, a fast-food-secret: mixing things together in different ways and repackaging it, we might just come close!
Ingredients
1 ounce red dried Chinese chilis
Szechuan peppercorns
Fresh ginger
Garlic
1 Tbsp Sesame seed oil
Rice wine vinegar
A few Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Method: Standard Szechuan Sauce
Dry roast 1 ounce of red dried Chinese chilis: Sauté them in an un-oiled pan until fragrant. Add boiling water to the pan and let the peppers steep for 30 minutes.
Toast Szechuan peppercorns. Once toasted, place in grinder and grind until finely ground. Set aside.
Add peppers to food processor along with fresh ginger and blend until paste-like.
Sweat some garlic in oil in a pan and add blended peppers. Sauté for about 2 minutes and then add 1 Tbsp sesame seed oil, some rice wine vinegar, a few Tbsp of soy sauce, some of our freshly ground Szechuan peppercorns, and about 1 Tbsp of brown sugar. Mix until combined.
Ingredients
Garlic
Balsamic vinegar
Soy sauce
A few Tbsp of plum sake
Sriracha sauce
4 Tbsp of brown sugar
Gresh ginger
Chili paste (if you’re looking for heat)
Method: Fan Recipe Szechuan Sauce
Sweat some garlic and oil in a pan until fragrant.
Add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, a few Tbsp of plum sake, a good helping of sriracha sauce, 4 Tbsp of brown sugar, and if you want some heat, add chili paste from previous episode. Also we are going to crush a knob of fresh ginger in there.
Sauté for about 5 minutes until everything is soft and syrupy.
Ingredients
McDonald’s Sweet and Sour Sauce
McDonald’s Tangy Barbeque Sauce
Method: McDonald's Sauce Method
Combine 2 parts Sweet and Sour sauce to 1 part Tangy Barbeque sauce.