Schezwan fried rice recipe | How to make schezwan rice

Schezwan fried rice recipe with steps on how to make your own schezwan sauce for rice. Schezwan fried rice is a popular fried rice variety from the Indo chinese cuisine. It is quite popular & is most ordered in Indo-Chinese restaurant. Unlike the regular fried rice, schezwan fried rice is hot & spicy with bursting flavors of ginger, garlic, soya sauce & red chilli paste.

Schezwan rice is made by frying rice along with schezwan sauce which is a unique blend of sauces cooked together. In this post I have also shown how to make the sauce from scratch & use the same for your schezwan fried rice.

Usually bottled Schezwan sauce from the stores contain additives or preservatives. So that keeps me away from using them most times. This homemade sauce is much flavorful & superior in taste that the ready made one. So do try the simple sauce I have shown here.

The Schezwan fried rice served in most restaurants in India do not have Sichuan peppers since it is already included in the store bought sauce they use.

The unique aroma actually comes from the sichuan peppers. However if you do not have then just skip them. Your dish will still turn out amazing.

To make schezwan sauce, red chilles are soaked in warm water and then blended to make red chilli paste. But if you do not have red chilies or do not want to blend them, then just use red chilli powder the same way I have used in this post.

But do note that the taste of the red chilies is much superior to the red chilli powder in the sauce. If you want to make your own sauce & store it then you can check this Schezwan sauce recipe.

Step-by-step photos

Preparation – cooking rice

You can cook rice in whatever way you like. It has to be grainy and not mushy. Here I have shown how I do.

1. Rinse and soak 1½ cups basmati rice for 20 to 30 minutes. Bring about 10 cups water to a rolling boil in a large pot. When the water begins to boil, drain the water from the rice and add it to the water. Also add 1 teaspoon oil to the water. Cook rice on a medium high flame till al dente. It must be grainy, almost cooked and not mushy.

2. Drain the rice immediately to a colander. To avoid drying, cover and keep the rice.

Preparation for Schezwan sauce – skip this section if you have the sauce.

3. Soak about 8 to 10 deseeded red chilies in little warm water for 15 minutes. Later make a fine paste in a blender jar along with the little water. I like to use red chili powder just to skip the lengthy process of soaking and blending.

To make that, add good quality red chili powder to a small bowl. Then pour very little water. Stir and make a fine paste.

Making sauce for schezwan fried rice

4. Pour 1½ tablespoons oil and heat it. Fry ½ tablespoon ginger and 1 tablespoon garlic until it turns aromatic.

4. Next add 1 medium onion chopped.

5. Fry until the onions turn golden. If using celery add 2 tbsps chopped celery. I do not use it. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.

If you already have the sauce and want to use it, skip to 11.

6. Next stir in 1½ tablespoon soya sauce, 1 tablespoon red chilli paste, 1 tablespoon ketchup (optional), ½ tablespoon sugar, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. To make red chilli paste, stir together ¾ to 1 tbsp red chilli powder with 3 tablespoons water.

7. Add ¾ to 1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan pepper or half teaspoon crushed black pepper. Please note you have to crush the Sichuan peppers well. If using them in ground form, cut down to half.

8. Saute furthermore till the sauce thickens.

9. Pour water and stir again. Cooking further brings out the flavor of onions and pepper.

10. Cook until it thickens. Set the sauce aside until needed. To the same pan, add 1½ tablespoon more oil and proceed to the next step.

How to make schezwan fried rice recipe

11. Regulate the flame to high. Add spring onion whites, carrots, french & beans. Stir fry chopped veggies until half cooked yet crunchy.

12. Add capsicum. Stir and fry until they are half done but not soft.

13. Add the spring onion greens and Schezwan sauce.

14. Add cooled rice. I added a bit of oil at this stage. Gently mix to coat the rice with sauce.

15. Stir fry further for 2 minutes. If making for later use or for packing in lunch box, then just mix and do not fry longer. Rice becomes harder. Taste test and add more salt and sauce if needed.

Serve hot and spicy veg schezwan fried rice with any Indo chinese side dish.

Tips to make schezwan fried rice

Cool Rice: Always use only completely cooled grainy rice. Either you can cook freshly and cool it while you make the sauce. Or just use precooked rice. Avoid using mushy rice or sticky rice.

Store bought sauce: If you do not want to make your own schezwan sauce, you could just grab a bottle of schezwan sauce from the nearest Indian or Chinese store or buy online.

Wok or a skillet: To make the best schezwan rice, use a wok if you have. Even a cast iron skillet works great.

Fry on a high heat: To get a smoky aroma always fry the veggies at the highest flame. You can also skip the veggies in the recipe. I have seen many restaurants serving the schezwan fried rice plain without any veggies added to it.

Variation: Since this is a vegetarian recipe I have used only mixed veggies but you can also stir in some beaten eggs or your choice of meat like chicken or shrimp.

If using chicken just boil it first until tender & then fry it before adding the veggies. Same with shrimp. If using egg then fry the veggies first & then the eggs.

Make ahead: You can make the sauce ahead & refrigerate it. When needed you can just stir the sauce in some hot oil and fry the rice together.

Servings suggestions

Serve Schezwan fried rice with any Indo chinese appetizers or sides like veg manchurian
paneer manchurian
chilli paneer

More fried rice recipes
Veg fried rice
Mushroom fried rice
Paneer fried rice
Egg fried rice
Chicken fried rice

Recipe

Easy schezwan fried rice recipe

Schezwan fried rice | How to make schezwan rice

Easy schezwan fried rice made with homemade schezwan sauce, veggies & rice.

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1x2x3x

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Servings3 people

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

Ingredients for schezwan fried rice

• 1½ cups rice uncooked (any premium quality)
• ¼ cup spring onions or onions
• ¾ cup carrots fine chopped (1 small) (optional)
• ¾ cup french beans fine chopped (4 medium)(optional)
• ¾ cup capsicum chopped or (½ bell pepper)
• 1½ tablespoons oil
• ½ tablespoon ginger chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• 2 tablespoons celery chopped finely (optional)

to make sauce or use 2 to 3 tbsp ready-made Schezwan sauce

• 1½ tablespoons oil
• 1½ tablespoons soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• ½ to ¾ tablespoons vinegar
• ¾ to 1 tablespoon red chili powder mixed with 3 tbsps water (or 1 tbsp red chilli paste)
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt as needed
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corn (or ½ tsp black pepper powder)
• 3 tablespoons water to cook the sauce

How to make the recipe

Preparation for veg schezwan fried rice

• Wash rice and soak for 20 to 30 mins. Bring 6 cups water to a boil.
• When the water begins to boil rapidly, then add rice and 1 teaspoon oil. Cook on a medium high flame till al dente.
• Al dente rice is firm but fully cooked. Make sure rice is not over cooked.
• When the rice is cooked al dente, drain it to a colander. 
• While the cooked rice cools completely, chop the vegetables.

How to make schezwan fried rice

• Pour oil to a hot wok. Fry ginger & garlic till they smell good.
• Next add onions and fry until golden. 
• Skip this step if you have the sauce ready. Stir in red chili powder with water. Add this to the pan along with soya sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, salt and schezwan pepper. Cook until it thickens. Pour 3 tbsps more water and cook till it thickens, Remove to a bowl. To the same pan, add 1½ tablespoon more oil. 
• On a high flame, fry spring onion whites, carrots, beans & capsicum until half cooked yet crunchy. 
• Next add Schezwan sauce, cooled rice and spring onion greens.
• Mix and stir fry schezwan rice for 2 minutes. Taste test and adjust salt and spice if needed.
• Serve schezwan fried rice hot or warm with any Indo chinese side.

Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

NUTRITION (estimation only)

Calories: 549kcal | Carbohydrates: 102g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 941mg | Potassium: 917mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 8045IU | Vitamin C: 273.6mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3.2mg

Notes

To make red chilli paste, soak 8 to 10 red chilies in little hot water. When they turn soft, blend with 1 to 2 tbsp water to a smooth paste. Or alternatively you can stir in 3/4 to 1 tablespoon red chilli powder with some water.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

If you are new to cooking, follow my detailed step by step photo instructions for best results.