Our love for Indo-Chinese food is supported by Schezwan Sauce in many ways. Honestly speaking, I over-use Schezwan sauce at home, to add flavour and a hint of spice to the dishes I prepare. Other than rice, noodles and innumerable Chinese dishes, I experiment beyond flavour boundaries in my kitchen. A dash of Schezwan in my cutlet mix, roasted sweet potatoes with Schezwan mayo, even the dough of dal ka thepla will have a hint of Schezwan spice when I make it.
Like the other day, I baked cocktail samosa with paneer, cheese stuffing. On tasting, the stuffing was a little bland, so I went ahead and added Schezwan to it. The flavour was lifted and baked cocktail samosa were a super Hit evening treat at home. Schezwan acts as a supporting flavour in many ways.
I prefer making Schezwan Sauce at home because of many obvious reasons. The quality of ingredients, preservative, high sodium presence. It might seem too much work, but actually, it’s super easy to make at home. The whole idea is to balance out the spice with the rest of the ingredients.
The Schezwan Sauce with lots of garlic and ginger is definitely great, but today I have a recipe for Jain Schezwan Sauce as well.
I have used red chillies Shirish Masala Mathania Red Chilli (Lal Mirch) Stemless,100% Authentic Mathania Mirch,Highest Quality( 400g)
Do you know that the schezwan sauce is originated from the Szechuan cuisine which is originated from Sichuan province in southwestern China?
Many recipes will call for Szechuan peppercorn for Schezwan sauce. It is a fragrant, mouth-numbing spice and is a key ingredient in Szechuan cuisine. It is not heavy on spice hotness, but interestingly it tingles the tastebuds, lips and mouth. Hence enhances the taste. It has a pinkish-red husk around a black seed which is roasted and ground as a spice. The seed is discarded as it gives a sandy texture.
We can make the schezwan sauce without Szechuan peppercorn, but if you can, you must give it a try to know the difference in taste.
The closet substitute of Szechuan peppercorn is a mix of black peppercorn and coriander seed.
Add more oil for a longer shelf life of the sauce. Oil should be floating on top of the sauce in a container.
Add a little bit more vinegar and sugar to give it a spicy, tangy and sweet taste.
Schezwan Sauce
INGREDIENTS
2 cups dried red chilli
¼ cup sesame oil
Puvi 1L Cold Pressed Gingelly / Sesame Oil (Virgin, Chekku / Ghani) – 1 Litre
¼ cup garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1/4th cup chopped celery stick
1/4th cup chopped onion
¼ cup of water
½ tsp Szechuan peppercorn, crushed Original Indian Table Himalayan Timur (Indian Schewan Pepper),50g
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
salt to taste
Method
Firstly, soak dried red chilli in hot water for 30 minutes or till they turn soft.
Discard the water and blend to smooth paste adding water if required. keep aside.
In a wok, heat ¼ cup sesame oil.
Sauté onion, celery, garlic and ginger for a minute for 2. And add in prepared red chilli paste.
Sauté for 2 minutes, so that chilli gets cooked well. Then add ¼ cup water gradually and adjust consistency.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Make sure to cook the sauce till oil floats on top.
Furthermore add in Szechuan peppercorn, vinegar, soy sauce, tomato sauce, sugar and salt to taste.
Mix well making sure everything is combined well.
Click here for Jain Schezwan Sauce
Schezwan Sauce
Equipment
- Cooking Wok
- Mixer Grinder
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried red chilli https://amzn.to/2NhZV9J
- 1/4th cup sesame oil https://amzn.to/2BQ4EKo
- 1/4th cup garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1/4th cup chopped celery stick
- 1/4th cup chopped onion
- 1/4th cup water
- 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorn, crushed https://amzn.to/2pXBqGH
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Firstly, soak dried red chilli in hot water for 30 minutes or till they turn soft.
- Discard the water and blend to smooth paste adding water if required. keep aside.
- In a wok, heat ¼ cup sesame oil.Sauté onion, celery, garlic and ginger for a minute for 2. And add in prepared red chilli paste.
- Sauté for 2 minutes, so that chilli gets cooked well. Then add ¼ cup water and adjust consistency.
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.Make sure to cook the sauce till oil floats on top.
- Furthermore add in Szechuan peppercorn , vinegar, soy sauce, tomato sauce, sugar and salt to taste.Mix well making sure everything is combined well.
Nutrition