Schezwan Fried Rice

This homemade schezwan rice is made from cooked rice, vegetables and schezwan sauce. It is a popular Indo Chinese recipe.

I love Indo-Chinese food, the delicious mix of Indian spices and soya sauce is second to none! The unique blend of sauces in Indo-Chinese cooking leads to exciting dishes with multiple layers of flavour.

Some of my favourite recipes include:

Vegetable Manchurian, Tofu Manchurian or Air fryer Gobi Manchurian

Chilli Paneer - this recipe is Sakoni style Chilli Paneer (a popular Indian restaurant found in Wembley, London)

Crispy Chili Tofu

Hakka Noodles

Spring Rolls

Burnt Garlic Fried Rice

Indo-Chinese Masala Mogo

Schezwan Baby Potatoes

Schezwan Fried Rice, pronounced seh-chwahn, is an easy recipe is made with homemade schezwan sauce. It is packed with even more flavour than regular fried rice!

It is also so easy to prepare and is perfect for mid-week dinners or lunches. You can have an incredible rice dish ready in half an hour if you have leftover rice in your fridge.

With the method provided in this post, you will have perfectly separate rice grains which are quintessential to fried rice dishes.

As with most stir fry dishes, you can use whichever chopped vegetables you have to hand.

Ingredients

Full measurements are in the recipe card below where you can also leave a star rating

Rice - for fried rice, you need to use leftover rice.

Try not to use rice that is still warm as it will become mushy. I have used Basmati rice which is long grain rice for the best results. Day old rice works well, but you can use fresh rice as long as it is totally cooled.

Vegetables: carrots, peas, french beans or green beans, cabbage, bell peppers, baby corn, spring onions. One of the best ways to speed things up, is to use a store-bought packet of stir fried vegetables.

Onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies

Schezwan Sauce - also known as schezwan chutney. This spicy sauce is common in Indo Chinese cuisine.

You can add more or less schezwan sauce depending on your spice level. You can of course use store-bought sauce. As an alternative, use a red chili sauce however the flavours will not be the same.

If you are making the recipe for young children, you could use less schezwan sauce and instead add tomato ketchup.

Red chili powder - you can leave this out if you feel your schezwan sauce is already spicy or use kashmiri powder for colour but no heat.

Pepper powder - you can use either black pepper or white pepper powder

Vinegar - rice vinegar works well and is used in chinese cooking

Oil - use sesame oil to emulate similar flavours to the food in Chinese restaurants but you can also use a flavourless oil if you cannot get hold of sesame oil

Method

Follow the step by step photos and video recipe. The prep time will vary whether you have pre-cooked rice.

Firstly, prepare the rice.

Wash rice and allow to soak in cold water

Heat water in a large pan

Add the rice once the water is boiled. You do not need to be too accurate with the rice to water ratio as we will drain the rice but 3 cups of water will do for 1 cup rice.

Cook rice until it is around 75% cooked. Drain the rice and place it in a wide plate to cool to keep the grains separate. You need the rice to be fully cooled prior to use.

Whilst the rice is cooling, prep your work space to chop all your vegetables!

In a large wok or heavy bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil on medium flame. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and green chilies. Sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat.

Next switch to a high flame and add the vegetables - I used yellow-green peppers, carrots, green beans and cabbage.

To the stir-fried vegetables add around 2 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar and schezwan sauce.

Add salt and pepper

Stir through the cooked rice gently and heat thoroughly. Careful to not break the rice.

Finish with the spring onion greens and finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tips

• Always use rice that is thoroughly cooled or is a day old. Warm rice will become mushy and you will not get fried rice.

• As with any stir fry style Chinese dish, the idea is to cook fast on high heat to develop a smoky flavour and to keep the vegetables crisp. Keep stirring to prevent burning at the bottom of the pan.

• I recommend making the rice on the stovetop rather than Instant Pot Pressure Cooker to keep each grain perfectly cooked and fluffy.

• Use a large pan as you will need a large surface area to stir - a smaller pan will cause the rice to mush.

• Test your schezwan sauce before using to check its spice and acidity.

• If you are making Schezwan Fried Rice as a main, you can make it spicy. If you are preparing it to serve with another Indo-Chinese dish, then keep it mild.

• Make it without soy sauce for Indian style Schezwan Fried Rice

Serving Suggestions

Schezwan Fried Rice is great as a main course or as part of an Indo-Chinese thali.

You can also serve it alongside manchurian but the two flavours will be strong if both recipes are spicy!

I love my spicy rice dishes with a tall glass of Mango Lassi or Sweet Lassi

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat it in the microwave. You may need to add a little water if it has dried out.

You can also freeze this rice. Defrost in the fridge or at room temperature and reheat. To revive it and bring out the nice flavor, you can give it another quick stir fry in a little oil and a dash of schezwan sauce.

Other Rice Recipes

Baby Potato Pulao

Mango Kheer (rice pudding)

Coconut Milk Pulao

Takeaway Style Pilau Rice

Yaki Onigiri

Tawa Pulao

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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