Schezwan Veg Fried Rice

Delicious, spicy and utterly flavorful, Schezwan Fried Rice is a popular Indo-Chinese delicacy made with cooked rice and an assortment of veggies that are tossed in a blend of piquant and hot sauces. As stated earlier, this stir-fried recipe is utterly delicious and comes out in a jiffy if you already have some pre-cooked rice; just toss together everything and you are good to go. Let's see how to make it..

Schezwan Veg Fried Rice

Now, you must be thinking, why this rice is called "Schezwan Fried Rice", well! Schezwan or Sichuan is a region in China famous for its utterly spicy chilies or peppers. These hot peppers go in making the Schezwan sauce, which is further used as the main ingredient in this stir-fried rice dish. Let me tell you, along with the peppers, the sauce has to it, a lot of garlic, ginger and vinegar which lends it that extra hotness, pungency and the umami flavor. If you like, you can always make it at home or get the store bought sauce to save a hell lot of time as well as effort. For me, the Ching's Schezwan Stir-Fry Sauce always works perfectly and I keep a couple of bottles stored in my pantry.

Now that you know a bit more about the schezwan sauce and rice, you also need to know how to make the best schezwan fried rice at home with the same restaurant like taste and texture. After all, no one likes mushy fried rice, which is why you need to have these few tips in mind:

FEW TIPS FOR PERFECT FRIED RICE

• Always go for a day old cooked rice while making the fried rice. Why? because the freshly cooked rice has extra moisture that makes the grains of rice clump together. Having said that, just in case, you do not have pre-cooked rice handy, cook the rice fresh, spread on a tray or a platter for couple of hours to dry off.
• Always try and use a thin-bottomed cast iron wok, also known as Chinese Wok. Owing to its great affinity to heat and a bigger surface area, it works best for all the stir-frying.
• Always cook the veggies and rice on high heat. This is the most important thing to keep in mind while stir-frying anything, be it veggies, rice or noodles. Note that high heat ensures vegetables are still crunchy and fresh, and there is a nice element of charness to them.
• Since everything has to be cooked on high heat, make sure that everything like veggies, rice, sauces and seasoning, everything is ready with you beforehand.

Hope these tips & tricks help you get the perfect, fluffy and separated fried rice.




INGREDIENTS

• Plain cooked rice (preferably a day old) - 2 cups
• Finely chopped garlic - 1 tsp
• Finely chopped ginger - 2 tsp
• Finely chopped green chilies - 1 tsp
• Finely chopped carrots - 1/4 cup
• Finely chopped French beans - 1/4 cup
• Finely chopped red, green and yellow bellpeppers - 1/4 cup
• Finely chopped spring onion bulbs - 1/4 cup
• Finely chopped spring onion greens - 1/4 cup + for garnish
• Salt - to taste
• Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Schezwan sauce - 3 tbsp
• Red chili sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup - 1/2 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 1/2 tbsp
• Vinegar - 1/2 tbsp
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

Schezwan Veg Fried Rice

METHOD

• Heat oil in a wok, preferably Chinese Wok.
• Add in chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies. Fry on high heat for 30 seconds.
• Next, add the chopped vegetables and fry on high heat for 2 minutes.
• Next add chopped spring onion bulbs and greens. Cook them too for half a minute.
• Now, add in all sauces along with vinegar, salt and black pepper powder. 
• Give a nice stir.
• Finally add in the cold rice in batches. Mix gently to combine everything together.
• Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot.

Note: Feel free to adjust the amount of sauce as per your taste preference.

Schezwan Veg Fried Rice

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