Schezwan Sauce also referred to as Schezwan Chutney is a spicy and pungent sauce made with dry red chillies, garlic, shallots and spices. It is a fusion Indo Chinese recipe of a hot chili sauce to perk up your meals.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 35 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 1 · 1 small jar
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Ingredients

  • 20 dry red chilies (- less hot or medium hot. I added a mix of 15 kashmiri and 5 byadagi dry red chilies)
  • hot water (- as needed to cover the chillies)
  • 2 to 2.5 tablespoons water (or as needed, for blending the red chilies)
  • 4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or any vegetable oil)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (or 15 small to medium-sized garlic cloves)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger (or 1 inch ginger)
  • ¼ cup finely chopped shallots (or 1 small onion - finely chopped)
  • 3 to 4 sichuan peppers (- crushed, optional (skip if you don' have))
  • ½ tablespoon finely chopped celery (- optional (skip if you don't have))
  • ½ cup water (- to be added later)
  • 2 teaspoons raw sugar
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper powder (or as required)
  • ½ teaspoon light soy sauce (or as required)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
  • salt (as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse and then soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes.
  2. You can also de-seed the chilies and remove their stems before you soak them.
  3. Drain all the water. Remove the stems and then break the chilies. Add them to a chutney grinder or blender. Add water and make a smooth paste of the red chilies.
  4. Crush the sichuan peppers coarsely in a mortar-pestle.

Making schezwan sauce

  1. Heat toasted sesame oil or any other vegetable oil in a frying pan.
  2. Lower the heat. Add the garlic and ginger first and sauté for some seconds till their raw aroma goes away. Don't brown them.
  3. Add the chopped shallots and then saute them stirring often till translucent on low to medium-low heat.
  4. Add the ground red chili paste and combine thoroughly.
  5. Then add the crushed sichuan pepper and finely chopped celery (if using). Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes more till you see oil releasing from the sides of the sauce.
  6. Add ½ cup of water and mix well. Simmer for 2 minutes stirring often on a low to medium-low heat.
  7. Add salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar.
  8. Stir and continue to cook further for 5 to 6 minutes more on low to medium-low heat.
  9. Switch off the heat and set the pan aside. Check the taste and add more salt, sugar or pepper as required.
  10. Once the sauce cools at room temperature, transfer it in a small jar or bowl. Cover tightly with a lid and refrigerate.
  11. Serve schezwan sauce as a condiment with snacks or you can also add in recipes like schezwan fried rice or noodles, vegetable schezwan or veg balls in hot garlic sauce or schezwan dosa.
  12. It stays good for about 2 to 3 weeks in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

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.