This veggie- and flavor-packed Schezwan fried rice recipe is incredibly easy to make! I’ve simplified this Indo-Chinese dish to be a lot quicker without sacrificing an of its amazing, complex flavor.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Ingredients

For the Rice-Quinoa Mixture

  • 3/4 cup white basmati rice
  • 1/4 cup quinoa (or you can use more white basmati rice)
  • 1 1/2 cups water (or stock)

For the Fried Rice

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger (minced)
  • 1 hot green chili (such as Serrano or Indian, minced)
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/4 cup chopped bell peppers
  • 1/4 cup chopped cabbage
  • 2 tablespoons green onion (Use the whites of the green onions and reserve the greens for garnish.)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro stems (or use cilantro leaves)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce (, use tamari for Glutenfree)
  • 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder (or use paprika)
  • 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (or use 4 cloves garlic and 1/2 inch ginger and make a paste in a blender or mortar and pestle with a few drops of rice vinegar)
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (or more, to taste)

For Garnish

  • black pepper
  • reserved green onions

Method

Prepare the rice-quinoa mixture.

  1. Wash the rice and quinoa, then add to a saucepan. Add the stock and a pinch of salt, then cover with a lid over medium heat. Once the stock has come to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for another 9 to 10 minutes, or until the rice and quinoa are both cooked to preference.
  2. Fluff them really well, and set them aside until you need them for the fried rice. Or use [adjustable]2 to 2.5 cups[/adjustable] of cooked grains of choice.

Make the Schezwan fried rice.

  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the minced ginger, garlic, and green chili to the pan, and mix well. (I use a food processor/chopper to mince the garlic ginger and chili together). Cook until they are starting to turn translucent, then add in the onion, carrots, and a good pinch of salt, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, add in the peppers, cabbage, cilantro, and salt and toss well. If you want to use more veggies, you can also add in some frozen veggies at this point, and toss well.
  2. Cook for a minute, then mix in the ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, Kashmiri Chili powder, ginger garlic paste, and white pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, 1-2 mins, then add in the cooked rice-quinoa mixture, tossing well to mix it in with all of the sauces. If it is drying out too much, add in some splashes of water to help mix everything in, then switch off the heat, cover the pan, and let it sit for the flavors for meld for about 2 minutes.
  3. Open the pan and fluff the Schezwan rice again. Garnish with the green onion and some black pepper, if you like, and serve.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.