Indian Chinese cuisine has brought many innovative, unique, mouth-watering and delicious foods that are immensely popular not only in India but also across the world. Foods flavoured with schezwan sauce are one of the most loved. Dishes like Schezwan fried rice, schezwan noodles, schezwan paneer, schezwan chicken & a lot many are made using this sauce as the base. With unique citrus notes, schezwan sauce has a well-balanced taste of hot, pungent, tangy and mildy sweet flavors. So this flavoursome sauce also goes well as a condiment with a lot of snacks and appetizers.

About Schezwan Sauce

Schezwan sauce is a popular Indo-Chinese condiment made with red chilies, garlic, soya sauce, vinegar and Sichuan peppers. Also known as schezwan chutney, it gets the name from the use of Sichuan peppers in the preparation of this sauce. Sichuan peppers are a common spice used in the Sichuan cuisine, which is romanized as Szechwan cuisine. Hence the name schezwan sauce. Sichuan pepper is the key ingredient that imparts a great bold citrusy flavor to this hot and pungent sauce. However if you do not have it you can still make this sauce with black pepper but you will surely miss the flavors of the Sichuan pepper. Authentic foods from Sichuan cuisine are super-hot, spicy and pungent. Since this schezwan sauce is a fusion version created by the Chinese immigrants in India, it is toned down to suit the local palate.

This recipe

This recipe will give you the best of what you can actually make! It is so much better than the store bought and is pure with no additives and MSG. Make a large batch of this and refrigerate for several months. Enjoy with your tea time snacks like cutlets, spring rolls, fried chicken, popcorn chicken or even with pakoras. Also making spicy fried rice or noodles is a breeze if you have this sauce in your fridge. You can also use it for shrimp, egg or chicken noodles or rice. Schezwan sauce gets its flavor from ingredients like celery, schezwan pepper, ginger garlic and soya sauce. So use good quality freshest ingredients.

How to Make Schezwan Sauce (Stepwise photos)

Preparation

  1. Add red chilies to a bowl. I deseed the chilies and use as it reduces the heat. I have used 1 cup red chilies (tightly packed), about 25 to 28.
  2. Pour hot water and soak them for 30 mins.
  3. They turn soft after soaking.
  4. Add them to a blender jar. If needed add 2 tbsps water.
  5. Make a fine paste.

Temper

  1. Heat oil in a pan. I have used 4 tbsps i.e 1/4 cup oil. Do not reduce it otherwise the sauce doesn’t taste good.
  2. Add ginger, garlic and crushed sichuan peppers. If you do not have sichuan peppers, you can skip. But they add a unique citrus aroma to the schezwan sauce. Saute for 2 mins.
  3. If using celery, add it now. Add finely chopped onions as well and then saute till they turn transparent. Do not brown the ginger garlic.
  4. Add the chili paste.
  5. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.
  6. Pour half cup water.
  7. Add sugar, salt and pepper as well.

Cook Schezwan Sauce

  1. Mix well. Cook covered on a medium flame again till the sauce turns thick.
  2. Cook further till oil separates. You can see traces of oil around the sides.
  3. Next stir in the soya sauce. I have used organic soya sauce. You may need to adjust the quantity if using any other kind.
  4. Add vinegar. I used apple cider vinegar. You can also use rice vinegar.
  5. Finally mix well and cook just for 2 mins. Cool the sauce completely. Store it in a glass jar. Keep refrigerated for better shelf life. Keeps good for about 2 months.

Faqs

For more Indo Chinese Recipes, you can checkSchezwan paneerMushroom manchurianVeg manchurianChicken noodles

Recipe Card

Recipe from Archives. First published in January 2018. Updated and republished in June 2021.

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