If you're looking for the best Indo-Chinese starter recipe, you've found it. These vegan Schezwan Chilli Potatoes and stir-fried vegetables are coated in a finger-licking spicy schezwan/sichuan sauce. The dish is crispy, full of flavour, and easy to make! I like to speed the process by using a store-bought stir-fry kit that has all my veggies pre-prepared!

Roasted baby potatoes are oven-cooked until they are beautiful and crispy and then tossed with fresh stir-fry vegetables and a special schezwan chilli sauce.
This recipe expertly combines so many flavours in one. It is spicy and hot, tangy and sweet - just what you would want from an Indo-Chinese classic. I say spicy but it isn't eye wateringly spicy - more of a gentle heat that builds as you eat!
This recipe has some similarities to the flavours in honey chilli potatoes buy we have not added honey but used our own chilli and sultana sauce.
Serve as it is or with rice noodles or fried rice, this Burnt Garlic and Tofu Rice is a great option.
These are some of my favourite Indo-Chinese recipes:
Chilli Paneer - our recipe is similar to a British Indian restaurant called Sakonis on Ealing road Wembley. I first tried their chilli paneer when I was about ⅚ years old and since then this is the only version I'll ever eat.
Soya Vegetable Manchurian - lower in fat than traditional manchurian (these balls are not deep-fried) yet it is so flavourful and delicious.
Masala Mogo - our readers all time top favourite post since being posted in 2012.
Vegetable Spring Rolls - again these are baked and not deep-fried, one more good reason to make them.
Air fryer Gobi Manchurian - it's vegan and gluten-free and packed with flavour.

Ingredients
See the recipe card below for exact measurements, method, servings and nutritional information.
Here is a list of what you will need to make schezwan potatoes, I have included substitutions where possible
For the potatoes:
Potatoes - we need potatoes that hold their shape well after cooking either new potatoes or salad potatoes. You can use salad potatoes like Anya or Charlotte which are also small and have a dense, waxy texture.
New potatoes are an option as well, as they too are small and waxy. My favourite new ptoatoes are Jersey Royals which are in season in May. They go wonderfully in our Jersey Royal Potato Butter Masala.
You can either peel off the skin off the potatoes or keep it if you wish. Keeping the skin on retains some of the fibre and nutrients.
Semolina - (optional) semolina helps with adding extra crunch when roasting the potatoes. Thanks to Nigella, Mary Berry and other great British culinary giants, this technique is used in many kitchens particularly when making crunchy roast potatoes. Fine or coarse semolina works fine. For gluten-free, use fine cornmeal as a replacement.
For the sauce
Stir-fry vegetables - adding vegetables to the recipe adds dimension and extra flavour and texture. The beauty of this dish is that you can add whichever stir-fry vegetables you like. I have used store-bought stir-fry vegetables for ease and to reduce prep time. This includes a medley of cabbage, red peppers and red onion.
Schezwan sauce - we have a jar of homemade schezwan sauce ready in the fridge for when Indo-Chinese cravings hit. We also use this sauce for our Schezwan Paneer wraps and Chilli Mogo recipes. This Indian style Schezwan sauce uses dried red chillies and/or Sichuan pepper.
Chilli and Sultana Sauce - we used our homemade chilli and sultana sauce but alternatively you can use shop-bought thai sweet chilli sauce which has a similar flavour.
Soy sauce - use either light or dark soy sauce. Use tamari if gluten-free.
Ginger and garlic - we have used fresh ginger and garlic for the best flavour but you can use jar/frozen. You could try using ginger and garlic powder but you will not get the same freshness.
Spring Onion - fresh spring onion is just so good with Indo-Chinese food so don't skip it! Use it as a garnish once the dish is ready to extract the best flavour and texture of the spring onion.
Oil - you will need oil both to coat the potatoes when roasting and also when cooking the vegetables. If possible use sesame oil for cooking the veggies as this provides a more chinese flavour. To roast the potatoes, we have used pomace olive oil which is suitable for cooking at high temperatures.
Salt & pepper - to season
Salted roasted peanuts - I have used broken peanuts as garnished for crunch. Avoid if making it as Nut-free.

How to make crispy schezwan potato
When my mum first posted this recipe in 2013, she boiled the potatoes in a stovetop normal pressure cooker then baked them coated in semolina in the oven.
Since the arrival of the Instant Pot and Air fryer in our kitchen we tend to make this recipe using these gadgets too.
Here is the Instant pot and air fryer recipe. For the original baked version check out the recipe card below.
Boil baby potatoes in Instant Pot
I used the Instant Pot Pro Crisp which has both pressure cooker and air fryer functions but you can separately use an electric pressure cooker and air fryer.
Wash the potatoes and cut the potatoes in half if they are too big.
I left the skin on but you could peel the potatoes either at this point or once they are boiled.
Add the potatoes to the inner pot of the instant pot and add enough water so that it just covers the potatoes.
Ensure the valve is on the seal position when you close the lid.
I cooked the potatoes for 3 minutes on low pressure but you can also choose 1 minute on high pressure.
Allow around 5-10 mins of NPR - natural pressure release before opening the lid.
Remove the potatoes from the water or else they will continue to cook in the hot water.
You can now either bake or air-fry the potatoes
Air-fry baby potatoes to crispy perfection
The benefit of airfrying is that you get all-over even crispiness without having to keep turning the potatoes. You can either use or leave out the semolina as the potatoes will be crispy enough without.
Pre-heat the airfryer to 195C/380F for 5 mins.
Place the potatoes in the airfryer basket and brush with oil and season with salt. Sprinkle over semolina if using.
Airfryer for 12-15 minutes until golden all over.
Once the program is complete, open the air fryer draw otherwise the heat will continue to cook the potatoes.
Cooking the vegetables
You can also use the Instant Pot for this too by using the saute function! Alternatively, use a frying pan.
Remember to keep the heat high to stir-fry the veggies but work fast
Add oil to the pan and saute the ginger-garlic puree. Add the white parts of the spring onion with the stir fry mix and mix.
Do not over cook the vegetables as we want to leave a crunch.
Add the sauces and the crispy potatoes.
Season and turn off the heat. Garnish with the green part of the spring onion.

Other potato recipes
Dahi Aloo (potatoes in yogurt gravy)
Baby Potato Pulao (Lasaniya Batata Rice)
Packed Potato Bhajiya (fritters)
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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Schezwan Baby Potatoes & Stir fried Vegetables (crispy)
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Stovetop Pressure Cooker
- Air fryer or oven
- Wok or Kadai
Ingredients
- 500 grams baby potatoes small salad potatoes or use only those potatoes which holds their shape after boil
- 300 grams stir-fry packet or vegetables like cabbage, carrot, green beans, Capsicum, red onion
- 5 tablespoon sesame oil or ground nut oil
- 2 tablespoon garlic and ginger puree or finely chopped
- 4-5 tablespoon spring onion white part
- 3-4 tablespoon spring onion green part
- 3-4 tablespoon schezwan sauce or per your taste
- 4 tablespoon chilli and sultana sauce can be used thai sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce light
- 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- salt use less as all the sauces contains salt
Instructions
STOVETOP SCHEZWAN CHILLI POTATOES
- Wash potatoes and boil them in salted water till just done. They should hold their shape. ( if potatoes are big cut into half )500 grams baby potatoes
- Pre heat oven to gas mark 7-8 or 450F/220C.
- Transfer them into another bowl.
- In a baking tray place potatoes, 3 tablespoon oil.5 tablespoon sesame oil
- Coat the potatoes evenly with oil.
- Roast the potatoes for 30-35 minutes till light golden. ( this step will give potato a crunch )
- Now add 2 tbsp. oil in a pan/wok and add ginger and garlic.2 tablespoon garlic and ginger
- Sauté for minute and add stir fry mix and white parts of spring onion. keep heat high.4-5 tablespoon spring onion, 300 grams stir-fry packet
- Add all the sauces and cook vegetables for not more than 2 minutes.3-4 tablespoon schezwan sauce, 4 tablespoon chilli and sultana sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Now add roasted potatoes, salt and black pepper powder.1 teaspoon black pepper, salt
- Mix very gently, and cook the potatoes one minute more.
- Check the seasoning, if needed add extra sauce ( I don’t think you’ll need to ).
- Turn the heat off.
- Garnish with chopped spring onion.3-4 tablespoon spring onion
- Serve hot on it’s own or with rice noodles.
INSTANT POT AND AIR FRYER SCHEZWAN CHILLI POTATOES
- Wash potatoes in clean water, if they are big cut into half.500 grams baby potatoes
- Add them in the inner pot of Instant Pot with water and salt. I have used Pro Crisp 8L Multi Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer.
- Close the lid, make sure the valve is on sealing position.
- Pressure cook 3 minutes on LOW pressure or 1 minutes on HIGH.
- 10 minutes NPR and release all the pressure naturally.
- Remove the potatoes from the water.
- Preheat the air fryer to 195C/380F for 5 minutes.
- Place all the boiled potatoes in a basket/rack, brush it with the oil.5 tablespoon sesame oil
- Air fry (roast) them for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
- Remove the air fryer components from the inner pot.
- Select saute mode on the panel, add oil.
- Add ginger-garlic puree.2 tablespoon garlic and ginger
- sauté for minute and add stir fry mix, keep saute mode on high.
- Tip white parts of spring onion.4-5 tablespoon spring onion
- Add all the sauces and stir-fry no more than a minute.3-4 tablespoon schezwan sauce, 4 tablespoon chilli and sultana sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Now add roasted potatoes, salt and black pepper powder.1 teaspoon black pepper, salt
- Mix very gently, and cook the potatoes one minute more.
- Garnish with chopped spring onion.3-4 tablespoon spring onion
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Share on Facebook Pin This RecipeNote – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content, but the recipe remains the same. First time published in December 2013.





Jamie says
I love spicy flavors so these potatoes were perfect for me. I love the combination of all the chilis and soy sauce together. Delicious!
Moop Brown says
I prefer my potatoes on the crispier side so I'm really looking forward to trying this recipe. This dish also looks very flavorful as well.
Debbie says
These Schezwan Baby Potatoes Clare so unique in flavor . My whole family loved the .. I will be making these on a regular basis
Erin says
These were so quick and easy to make! We all loved them. Thanks fo the great recipe!
Loreto Nardelli says
I absolutely love this dish, The rexture, variety of flavoe and crispy potatoes with semolina, I am totally in. Definitely making this! Thanks so much for sharing!❤❤❤👍👌🙏
Laura says
We made this recipe as a starter last night and we absolutely loved it! Thanks a lot for sharing
amy liu dong says
Wow! This is so good and tasty. I will make this for tonight's dinner. Thanks for sharing!
LaKita says
These potatoes came out so perfect, flavorful, and amazing! I will definitely be making them often.
Daniela says
Loved how crispy the potatoes were when they came out of the airfryer. Will make again
Javelin Warrior says
Potatoes can be so bland and boring so much of time, so it's wonderful to have a spicy twist like these for a surprise now and then!
Simplyfood says
Yummy with awesome clicks.
Unknown says
These Potatoes looks awesome
Sutapa says
yuuuuuummmm....superb..
Unknown says
Yummy flavorful potatoes
Second Helping says
looks super yummmm! Thanks for sharing 🙂