Schezwan Fried Rice is a vibrant Indo-Chinese stir-fried dish made with cooked rice, spicy schezwan sauce, and mixed vegetables. It is zesty, hearty, and easy to prepare with wholesome ingredients. Garlic, spring onions, celery, and vinegar add flavor, while mushrooms or other veggies can be included for variety. This flavorful rice dish works well as a main or side and pairs nicely with manchurian or other Chinese-inspired recipes.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Ingredients

  • 1 cup or (200 grams) basmati rice (or long grained rice)
  • 3.5 cups water (or as needed)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon oil (- any neutral tasting oil)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic (or 2 to 3 small to medium garlic)
  • 1 or 2 spring onions ((scallions) - finely chopped, reserve the greens for garnishing)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery ((optional))
  • 7 to 8 french beans (- finely chopped)
  • ⅓ to ½ cup carrots (- finely chopped)
  • ½ cup cabbage (- chopped)
  • ⅓ cup capsicum (- chopped (green bell pepper))
  • 1 cup button mushrooms (- chopped, optional)
  • 2 tablespoons Schezwan Sauce (or add as required)
  • salt (as required)
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper (or black pepper powder, can add as required)
  • ½ teaspoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar or white vinegar)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons spring onion greens (- chopped (scallion greens) - for garnish)

Method

Cooking rice

  1. Rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
  3. In a pot, bring water to a gentle boil adding salt and oil.
  4. Add the soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
  5. On a low to medium-low heat cook the rice without the lid.
  6. When the rice becomes al dente or just about cooked, remove the pot from fire and strain the rice.
  7. Gently rinse the rice in water so that they stop cooking and don't stick to each other.
  8. Cover the rice and set aside. You can even cover and refrigerate the rice while you prep the veggies and herbs.

Making schezwan fried rice

  1. Finely chop all the vegetables. You can even shred the vegetables in a food processor.
  2. Heat oil in a wok. Add garlic and sauté for a few seconds.
  3. Add the onions, celery and all the vegetables.
  4. Increase the heat and stir fry the vegetables on a medium-high to high heat.
  5. More finely the vegetables are chopped, more faster they will cook.
  6. Keep on stirring and tossing the vegetables continuously, so that they are equally browned and cooked.
  7. When the edges of the veggies starts to become light brown, add schezwan sauce.
  8. Stir and then add the cooked and cooled rice in portions. Mix and toss the rice with the veggies gently.
  9. Season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Stir and toss well so that the sauce coats all the rice grains evenly.
  10. Garnish with the spring onions greens.
  11. Serve schezwan fried rice as it is or with a side of veg manchurian, mushroom manchurian or gobi manchurian.

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.