Spicy Schezwan Fried Rice with Homemade Schezwan Sauce

 

For the last day of cooking from a partner’s blog, I chose to make this spicy Schezwan style fried rice. Both my boys love fried rice. Last night when I was scrambling for dinner idea, this recipe from PJ’s blog that I had bookmarked came to my rescue. I had all the right vegetables and I was on a roll.

The most interesting part of the recipe was the Schezwan sauce. It was so simple and flavorful, that is was the star of the dish. I used the Guajillo Chili which is a mild chili pepper used widely in Mexican cuisine. This was the chili that I had used to make the Thai Red curry. This chili, when made into a paste gives a very lovely color and because of that I am big fan of it. Unfortunately the chili was not very spicy for our liking. Next time when I make it I will be using this chili for the color and would also add a couple of our spicy dried red chili for the heat. If you like your dish to be mild to medium spicy, I would highly recommend you to use this chili.

I used up half of the sauce that I made yesterday and the other half I have stored for future use. Once the prep works are done, assembling the dish is a breeze. I did not add the tomato sauce as mentioned in the dish and instead used some rice wine vinegar for tanginess.


 
Preparation time – 20 mins
Cooking time – 30 mins
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients to make Spicy Schezwan Fried – (serves 4-6)
 

For the Schezwan sauce – (makes for 2 times)

• Guajillo chilies – 2 (for medium spice) if preferred hot add couple of Hot dried red chilies
• Garlic – 4 cloves
• Ginger – 1 inch piece

For the Fried rice –

• Basmati rice or any long grained rice – 2 cups
• Garlic – 2 cloves (finely minced)
• Onion – 1 large (thinly sliced)
• Bell pepper – 1 cup (thinly sliced)
• Cabbage – 1 cup (thinly sliced)
• Carrots – 2 or 1 cup (thinly sliced)
• Baby corn or corn kernels – ½ cup
• Green peas – ½ cup
• Soy sauce – 1 ½ tbsp
• Schezwan sauce – 2 tbsp (or more based on your liking)
• Sweet chili sauce – 1 ½ tbsp
• Rice wine vinegar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Sesame oil or mix of sesame oil and olive oil – 2 tbsp

• Soak the chili in hot water for about 10 mins.

• Grind it along with the ginger and garlic into a paste. I also washed the mixer with little water and added to the sauce.

To make the Fried Rice –

• Soak the rice in water for few minutes and then cook it. Let the rice cool down to room temperature.

• Chop all the vegetables and keep it ready.

• In a wide pan or a wok, heat the oil. Fry the minced garlic for about 30 secs and then immediately add the sliced onions. Sauté it for a minute and then add the bell pepper.  Fry them for 2 minutes.

• Now add the cabbage and the carrot and fry it for about 5-7 mins. Do not let the vegetables become mushy. They should have the crunch in them.

• Now add the peas and the corn and fry it further for 2 more minutes. Add very little salt (if needed) and mix well. Keep in mind that the soy sauce has lot of salt in it.

• Next add all the sauces and vinegar and mix well.

• Now goes in the rice and carefully mix without breaking the grains.

• Check for seasoning and serve hot with Manchurian or with some sweet chili sauce!

Notes and Observations –

• Use the right kind of chili for the level of spiciness you prefer.
• Have all the ingredients chopped and ready before assembling the dish.
• Use any other vegetable that you have in hand.