[ad_1]
Schezwan Fried Rice is a vibrant Indo-Chinese dish made by stir-frying cooked rice with a spicy, tangy Schezwan sauce, mixed vegetables and mushrooms, garlic, spring onions, celery, vinegar, salt and pepper, creating a flavorful, zesty rice dish that’s perfect as a main or side, often served with manchurian or other Chinese-inspired dishes.
Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe – Indo Chinese Style
Schezwan fried rice is a zesty vegetarian and vegan stir-fried rice dish that features a bold and spicy Schezwan Sauce with mixed vegetables, aromatics, and herbs.
This popular Indo Chinese recipe with step-by-step photos and video is simple to make from scratch using wholesome ingredients. I promise you’ll love it even more than your favorite takeout.
It is hearty, satisfying, and easy to customize. Adapted around the world, this Chinese-based recipe is made with different ingredients and techniques.
Fried rice is best cooked in a wok or large pan so everything gets a crispy, slightly crunchy coating with a deep smoky flavor.
This schezwan fried rice is vegetarian, vegan-friendly, and can even be gluten-free if you make the sauce with GF soy sauce. The spicy sauce bursts with tangy heat from dry chili peppers, garlic, and vinegar.
You can make schezwan sauce up to a week in advance to save prep time, or simply use your favorite brand. The same sauce can be used for Schezwan Noodles, Schezwan Paneer & Schezwan Dosa as well. For convenience, leftover rice works great in this fried rice recipe.
Swap vegetables, add plant-based proteins, adjust the spice level, and cook in a wok or pan — make this schezwan fried rice exactly how you like it!
How to make Schezwan Fried Rice
Making schezwan fried rice starts with perfectly cooked rice. The grains should be separate, fluffy, and not mushy, as this gives the stir-fry its signature texture.
Cook Rice
1. Rinse 1 cup of basmati rice or long grained rice, until the water runs clear of the starch. Then soak the rice in water covering the rice grains up-to 1 to 1.5 inches for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain all the water and set it aside.
2. Bring 3.5 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon oil to a gentle boil. Use any neutral tasting oil.
3. Add the drained soaked rice.
4. Simmer on low to medium-low heat till you cook the rice grains to an al dente – meaning they should have a slight bite to them.
5. Strain the rice grains in a mesh strainer or colander. Then rinse them with water, while gently moving the grains with your fingers. Drain completely. This method stops the further cooking of rice grains and removes any extra starch.
Cover and set aside at room temperature to let the rice grains cool completely or refrigerate while you prep the veggies and other ingredients.
Prep and Stir Fry Veggies
6. Chop all the french beans, carrots, cabbage finely. If adding button mushrooms, then slice or chop them. You can even shred the carrots and cabbage.
Remember to chop the french beans very finely as they take more time to cook than other veggies.
You can also blanch the green beans first and then stir-fry. Another option is to add the beans first while stir frying and later add the other vegetables.
7. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan or a wok. Add ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic and sauté for a few seconds.
You can use toasted sesame oil or any neutral tasting oil for stir frying.
8. Now add all the vegetables listed below including the spring onions and celery.
- ⅓ cup finely chopped french beans
- ⅓ to ½ cup finely chopped carrots
- ½ cup finely chopped cabbage
- ⅓ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)
- 1 cup chopped/finely chopped or sliced button mushrooms (or chopped cremini mushrooms)
- ⅓ cup chopped spring onion whites (scallion whites)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery – optional
9. Increase the heat to medium-high or high and begin to stir-fry the veggies. Keep on stirring the veggies often, until they start getting lightly browned from the edges. It took about 9 minutes for the vegetables to cook.
Note that the time will vary with the pan thickness, pan size and the intensity of the flame or heat.
10. Now add 2 tablespoons of the schezwan sauce. You can use Homemade Schezwan Sauce or store brought sauce.
Make Schezwan Fried Rice
11. Combine and mix thoroughly.
12. Add the rice in portions and gently keep on mixing and combining the rice grains with the veggie coated sauce mixture. Stir gently as you don’t want the rice grains to break.
13. Season with salt as needed, ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper (or black pepper powder) and ½ teaspoon rice vinegar.
TIP: Swap apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or white vinegar with rice vinegar.
14. Mix and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes tossing the rice so that the sauce coats each and every rice grain well. Check the taste and add more salt, pepper and schezwan sauce if needed.
15. Garnish with 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped spring onion greens and serve the schezwan fried rice hot.
Serving Suggestions
Schezwan fried rice is great served alongside any other saucy, spicy foods. Try these other delicious veggie dishes:
It is hearty enough to enjoy on it’s own as a lunch or main dinner dish, with a salad or more vegetables on the side. I love to eat a large bowl of schezwan fried rice with simple sautéed kale and mushrooms or homemade crunchy Spring Rolls.
Variations
- Swap ingredients: Feel free to substitute or add veggies like zucchini, baby corn, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, kale, spinach, fresh shiitake mushrooms, carrots, french beans (green beans), steamed corn or canned corn. Whatever flavors you like! For more plant based protein you can even include canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas) or cubes of extra firm tofu.
- Prep the veggies however you like: This can be shredded, julienned or chopped finely. Just try to prep all ingredients so that they are uniform in size so that everything stir fries evenly.
- More or less spicy: The amount of schezwan sauce to be added depends on the spice level in the sauce and your taste buds so please add as per your own taste. I usually prefer my schezwan fried rice less spicy than what is typically served in Indo Chinese food takeaways and restaurants.
Expert Tips
- Perfect Smoky Flavor: The key to any great stir-fried dish is the smoky flavor that comes from using the right stir-fry technique. This requires continuous stirring of ingredients as the dish is cooked over very high heat. The goal is to get a light brown sear on the rice and veggies, but to keep them moving so much that they don’t actually burn. Preferably it is best to use a cast iron skillet or carbon steel wok as they retain heat.
- Prepping: Be sure to have all your sauces and seasonings prepared before you begin the stir-fry process. You will need to work quickly and keep your eye constantly on the wok or pan as you stir fry, so having everything chopped, mixed, and ready to use is incredibly helpful.
- Al Dente Rice: The tastiest fried rice dishes use rice that is just cooked and thoroughly cooled before adding to the hot wok. Over-steamed rice will become mushy in the pan, so originally cook the rice until it is al dente.
- Schezwan Sauce: Prepare a tasty homemade schezwan sauce beforehand and have it ready to use in this schezwan fried rice recipe. If you do not have a sauce prepared, you can use a store brought one.
- Leftovers: Store cooled leftover schezwan fried rice in a sealed container, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Reheat in a microwave or a small sauce pot on the stove. You might want to add a teaspoon or so of water when reheating to get the rice a bit fluffy again.
FAQs
What is the main difference between Schezwan Fried Rice and regular fried rice?
Schezwan Fried Rice uses a spicy schezwan sauce that makes it hot, pungent, and gives it a red color. Regular fried rice is milder, made with soy sauce, vinegar, and seasonings, without the extra heat or color.
How can I make Schezwan Sauce at home?
It is easy to make Schezwan Sauce at home. You can make it by following this Schezwan Sauce recipe or even use a readymade, good brands of Schezwan Sauce or chutney to make this recipe.
Is Sichuan and Schezwan the same thing?
No, they are different. Sichuan is a province in southwest China, and the food culture there is known as Sichuan cuisine. It is famous for bold, spicy, umami flavors and the use of Sichuan peppercorns that create a numbing heat.
Schezwan, on the other hand, is an Indo-Chinese adaptation introduced by the Chinese community in Kolkata. Schezwan dishes use a fiery schezwan sauce or chutney made with red chilies, garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce, which gives them their signature hot and pungent taste.
Which one is a spicier – Schezwan or Hakka?
Schezwan is spicier because it uses a bold schezwan sauce made with red chilies, garlic, and vinegar. Hakka is milder, cooked mainly with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, with just a light seasoning of black pepper.
How can I make a street-style Schezwan Fried Rice?
Use a wok and cook on medium-high to high heat. This quick stir-frying technique gives the smoky flavor and texture that makes it taste like street-style Schezwan Fried Rice.
Cooking rice
-
Rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes.
-
Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
-
In a pot, bring water to a gentle boil adding salt and oil.
-
Add the soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
-
On a low to medium-low heat cook the rice without the lid.
-
When the rice becomes al dente or just about cooked, remove the pot from fire and strain the rice.
-
Gently rinse the rice in water so that they stop cooking and don’t stick to each other.
-
Cover the rice and set aside. You can even cover and refrigerate the rice while you prep the veggies and herbs.
Making schezwan fried rice
-
Finely chop all the vegetables. You can even shred the vegetables in a food processor.
-
Heat oil in a wok. Add garlic and sauté for a few seconds.
-
Add the onions, celery and all the vegetables.
-
Increase the heat and stir fry the vegetables on a medium-high to high heat.
-
More finely the vegetables are chopped, more faster they will cook.
-
Keep on stirring and tossing the vegetables continuously, so that they are equally browned and cooked.
-
When the edges of the veggies starts to become light brown, add schezwan sauce.
-
Stir and then add the cooked and cooled rice in portions. Mix and toss the rice with the veggies gently.
-
Season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Stir and toss well so that the sauce coats all the rice grains evenly.
-
Garnish with the spring onions greens.
-
Serve schezwan fried rice as it is or with a side of veg manchurian, mushroom manchurian or gobi manchurian.
- Smoky Flavor: Stir frying at a very high heat and continuously stirring the ingredients in the wok aids in giving a smoky flavor to the dish.
- Prepping: Be sure to have all your sauces and seasonings prepared before you begin the stir-frying.
- Al dente rice: Another key point is to steam or cook the rice and let it cool completely. The rice has to be cooked al dente, meaning just about cooked.
- Veggies: The veggies can be shredded, julienned or chopped finely. You can use a mix of veggies that you like.
- Schezwan Sauce: Make your own homemade schezwan sauce or use a good brand. The amount of schezwan sauce to be added depends on the spice level in the sauce and your taste buds so add less or more according to your taste buds and preferences.
Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1367mg | Potassium: 341mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2685IU | Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 1mg | Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 1mg | Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 3mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin B12: 1µg | Vitamin C: 23mg | Vitamin D: 1µg | Vitamin E: 1mg | Vitamin K: 45µg | Calcium: 55mg | Vitamin B9 (Folate): 34µg | Iron: 1mg | Magnesium: 32mg | Phosphorus: 121mg | Zinc: 1mg
Schezwan Fried Rice recipe from the archives was first published on June 2014.
[ad_2]
Dassana Amit
Source link