Annapurna: Schezwan Fried Rice / Indo-Chinese Cuisine

Monday 22 February 2016

Schezwan Fried Rice / Indo-Chinese Cuisine

Schezwan fried rice is a hot and flavorful vegetarian rice recipe from Indo-Chinese Cuisine. It is generally served in almost all the Chinese restaurants . It is also served in the road side eateries along with other Chinese fast foods . The reason for this is that if we have cooked rice and Schezwan sauce ( the main ingredients of the dish) ready at hand, then this rice can be made in a jiffy.

This flavorful rice can be easily made at home and the added veggies make it a healthy option. I generally have a stock of home made Schezwan sauce sitting in my fridge , so whenever i have some spicy cravings , i opt for this rice dish. This recipe also helps me to convert my stale rice into a irresistible and yummy dish !

Home made Schezwan sauce

I have not added any artificial color so the Schezwan fried rice does not look exactly as we get in restaurants , if you wish you may add orange food color to the rice. Also the amount of Schezwan sauce added, depends on how spicy you want the dish to be. Here , i have added only 1 tbsp of Schezwan sauce to 1 1/2 cup of rice , as i was preparing this dish for kids.You may add 3 tbsp or more sauce for this quantity of rice , to get a spicy and hot rice dish.The veggies used for this recipe should be chopped very finely and evenly , as the recipe calls for stir frying the veggies and rice on a high flame to get the smokey flavor . The Schzewan fried rice can be served as a main course along with some manchurian gravy or can be had as it is.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup cooked rice ( i have used Basmati rice)
1 tbsp of finely chopped Garlic
2-3 spring Onion whites chopped finely
1 medium Carrot finely chopped
1 small green Bell Pepper finely chopped
4-5 French Beans finely chopped
2 tbsp of finely chopped spring onion greens for garnishing
2-3 tbsp of Schezwan Sauce ( click the highlighted word for the link of recipe)
3 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp of black Pepper powder
1 tbsp of Vinegar
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cook the rice 3-4 hours before making the fried rice, as the rice should be completely cooled and non-sticky . Soak the rice for at least 30 minutes. take 4-5 cups of water in a sauce pan , add salt , few drops of oil and squeeze juice of one lemon and give it a boil. Add soaked and drained rice to the boiling water and cook until almost done.

2. Put of the flame and immediately drain the rice in a colander. Allow the rice to cool down completely. If you are in a hurry , add 1 cup of cold water over the rice in a colander.You may use the stale cooked rice also, if using stale one, rub little oil to the rice with fingers and break the lumps if any.

3. Heat up oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic , saute well . Increase the flame to high and add the spring onion whites , followed by chopped carrots and french beans. Stir continuously. Add capsicum at the last, as it takes less time to cook. Add salt sufficient for the veggies , as rice and schezwan sauce already have salt.

4. Add the schezwan sauce and vinegar. Lower the flame while adding the sauce. Mix well , add the cooked rice and stir fry on medium to high flame for 2-3 minutes.