schezwan fried rice served in a white bowl

Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe

By Swasthi on April 20, 2023, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Schezwan Fried Rice recipe with easy instructions to make your own schezwan sauce for rice. This spicy Schezwan Fried Rice is a breeze to whip up in just 20 minutes with the best homemade sweet, sour and hot sauce. Made with everyday ingredients, it is insanely flavorful & delicious!! This recipe is vegetarian, but you can easily add the protein of your choice. Easily customize it to your taste and add the choice of veggies or even egg.

schezwan fried rice served in a white bowl

About Schezwan Fried Rice

Schezwan Fried Rice is a popular fried rice variety from the Indo Chinese Cuisine. It is quite popular & is the most ordered in Indo-Chinese restaurants. Unlike the regular fried rice, Schezwan Fried Rice is hot & spicy with bursting flavors of ginger, garlic, soya sauce & red chilli paste.

This is an easy recipe to make better than restaurant quality schezwan fried rice. It is so much flavorful, delicious and super simple to make with pantry staples. Another similar dish is this Schezwan Noodles.

Schezwan rice is made by frying rice along with schezwan sauce which is a unique blend of sauces cooked together. In this post I have also shown how to make the sauce from scratch & use the same for your schezwan fried rice.

Usually bottled Schezwan sauce from the stores contain additives & preservatives. So that keeps me away from using them most times. This homemade sauce is much flavorful & superior in taste that the ready made one. So do try the simple sauce I have shown here.

The Schezwan fried rice served in most restaurants in India do not have Sichuan peppers since it is already included in the store bought sauce they use.

The unique aroma actually comes from the sichuan peppers. However if you do not have then just skip them. Your dish will still turn out amazing.

To make schezwan sauce, red chilles are soaked in warm water and then blended to make red chilli paste. But if you do not have red chilies or do not want to blend them, then just use red chilli powder the same way I have used in this post.

But do note that the taste of the red chilies is much superior to the red chilli powder in the sauce. If you want to make your own sauce & store it then you can check this Schezwan sauce recipe.

More fried rice recipes
Veg fried rice
Mushroom fried rice
Paneer fried rice
Egg fried rice
Chicken fried rice

How to Make Schezwan Fried Rice (stepwise photos)

Preparation

You can cook rice in whatever way you like. It has to be grainy and not mushy. Here I have shown how I do.

1. Rinse and soak 1½ cups basmati rice for 20 to 30 minutes. Bring about 10 cups water to a rolling boil in a large pot. When the water begins to boil, drain the water from the rice and add it to the water. Also add 1 teaspoon oil to the water. Cook rice on a medium high flame till al dente. It must be grainy, almost cooked and not mushy.

rice for schezwan rice

2. Drain the rice immediately to a colander. To avoid drying, cover and keep the rice.

rice in a colander

Preparation for Schezwan sauce – skip this section if you have the sauce.

3. Soak about 8 to 10 deseeded red chilies in little warm water for 15 minutes. Later make a fine paste in a blender jar along with little water. I like to use red chili powder just to skip the lengthy process of soaking and blending.

To make that, add good quality Kashmiri red chili powder to a small bowl. Then pour very little water. Stir and make a fine paste.

Make Schezwan Sauce for Rice

4. Pour 1½ tablespoons oil and heat it. Fry ½ tablespoon ginger and 1 tablespoon garlic until it turns aromatic.

frying ginger garlic paste

4. Next add 1 medium onion chopped.

addition of chopped onions for schezwan fried rice recipe

5. Fry until the onions turn golden. If using celery add 2 tbsps chopped celery. I do not use it. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.

frying onions until golden

If you already have the sauce and want to use it, skip to 11.

6. Next stir in 1½ tablespoon soya sauce, 1 tablespoon red chilli paste, 1 tablespoon ketchup (optional), ½ tablespoon sugar, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. To make red chilli paste, stir together ¾ to 1 tbsp red chilli powder with 3 tablespoons water.

addition of sauce red chili paste to make schezwan fried rice recipe

7. Add ¾ to 1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan pepper or half teaspoon crushed black pepper. Please note you have to crush the Sichuan peppers well. If using them in ground form, cut down to half.

adding sichuan peppers to pan

8. Saute furthermore till the sauce thickens.

thichen the sichuan sauce for making schezwan fried rice recipe

9. Pour water and stir again. Cooking further brings out the flavor of onions and pepper.

addition of water to the sauce

10. Cook until it thickens. Set the sauce aside until needed. To the same pan, add 1½ tablespoon more oil and proceed to the next step.

cooking sauce until thickened for schezwan fried rice

Make Schezwan Fried Rice

11. Regulate the flame to high. Pour 1.5 tablespoons oil. When the oil turns hot, add spring onion whites, carrots, french & beans. Stir fry chopped veggies until half cooked yet crunchy.

fry veggies in pan

12. Add capsicum. Stir and fry until they are half done but not soft.

addition of bell peppers to the pan and fry in schezwan fried rice recipe

13. Add the spring onion greens and Schezwan sauce.

addition of spring onions to make

14. Add cooled rice. I added a bit of oil at this stage. Gently mix to coat the rice with sauce.

cooked and cooled rice added to the pan

15. Stir fry further for 2 minutes. If making for later use or for packing in lunch box, then just mix and do not fry longer. Rice becomes harder. Taste test and add more salt and sauce if needed.

garnished restaurant style schezwan fried rice

Servings Suggestions

Serve Schezwan fried rice with any Indo Chinese appetizers or sides like
Veg manchurian
Paneer manchurian
Chilli paneer

schezwan fried rice garnished with spring onions

Pro Tips

Cool Rice: Always use only completely cooled grainy rice. Either you can cook freshly and cool it while you make the sauce. Or just use precooked rice. Avoid using mushy rice or sticky rice.

Store bought sauce: If you do not want to make your own schezwan sauce, you could just grab a bottle of schezwan sauce from the nearest Indian or Chinese store or buy online.

Wok or a skillet: To make the best schezwan rice, use a wok if you have. Even a cast iron skillet works great.

Fry on a high heat: To get a smoky aroma always fry the veggies at the highest flame. You can also skip the veggies in the recipe. I have seen many restaurants serving the schezwan fried rice plain without any veggies added to it.

Variation: Since this is a vegetarian recipe I have used only mixed veggies but you can also stir in some beaten eggs or your choice of meat like chicken or shrimp.

If using chicken just boil it first until tender & then fry it before adding the veggies. Same with shrimp. If using egg then fry the veggies first & then the eggs.

Make ahead: You can make the sauce ahead & refrigerate it. When needed you can just stir the sauce in some hot oil and fry the rice together.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

schezwan fried rice

Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe

This spicy schezwan fried rice is a breeze to whip up in just 20 minutes with the best homemade sweet, sour and hot sauce. This recipe is vegetarian, but you can easily add the protein of your choice.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings3 people
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • cups rice uncooked (any premium quality)
  • ¼ cup spring onions or onions
  • ¾ cup carrots fine chopped (1 small) (optional)
  • ¾ cup french beans fine chopped (4 medium)(optional)
  • ¾ cup capsicum chopped or (½ bell pepper)
  • tablespoons oil
  • ½ tablespoon ginger chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
  • 1 medium onion chopped finely
  • 2 tablespoons celery chopped finely (optional)

to make sauce or use 2 to 3 tbsp ready-made Schezwan sauce

  • tablespoons oil
  • tablespoons soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
  • ½ to ¾ tablespoons vinegar
  • ¾ to 1 tablespoon red chili powder mixed with 3 tbsps water (or 1 tbsp red chilli paste)
  • ½ tablespoon sugar
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt as needed
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corn (or ½ tsp black pepper powder)
  • 3 tablespoons water to cook the sauce


Instructions

Preparation

  • Wash rice and soak for 20 to 30 mins. Bring 6 cups water to a boil.
  • When the water begins to boil rapidly, then add rice and 1 teaspoon oil. Cook on a medium high flame till al dente.
  • Al dente rice is firm but fully cooked. Make sure rice is not over cooked.
  • When the rice is cooked al dente, drain it to a colander. 
  • While the cooked rice cools completely, chop the vegetables.

How to Make Schezwan Fried Rice

  • Pour oil to a hot wok. Fry ginger & garlic till they smell good.
  • Next add onions and fry until golden. 
  • Skip this step if you have the sauce ready. Stir in red chili powder with water. Add this to the pan along with soya sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, salt and schezwan pepper. Cook until it thickens. Pour 3 tbsps more water and cook till it thickens, Remove to a bowl. To the same pan, add 1½ tablespoon more oil. 
  • On a high flame, fry spring onion whites, carrots, beans & capsicum until half cooked yet crunchy. 
  • Next add Schezwan sauce, cooled rice and spring onion greens.
  • Mix and stir fry schezwan rice for 2 minutes. Taste test and adjust salt and spice if needed.
  • Serve schezwan fried rice hot or warm with any Indo chinese side.


Notes

To make red chilli paste, soak 8 to 10 red chilies in little hot water. When they turn soft, blend with 1 to 2 tbsp water to a smooth paste. Or alternatively you can stir in 3/4 to 1 tablespoon red chilli powder with some water.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 549 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Sodium 941mg41%
Potassium 917mg26%
Carbohydrates 102g34%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 16g18%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 8045IU161%
Vitamin C 273.6mg332%
Calcium 80mg8%
Iron 3.2mg18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Comments

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5 stars
You revolutionised my cooking. Thanks for the recipes,for making my cooking tasty and interesting.

Actually, to add to my previous comment. Steps 1 and 2 are also part of the Schezwan sauce preparation. So, instead of saying “Skip this step …” you should be saying “Skip steps 1-3 …” In other words, if you already have the Schezwan sauce prepared, the fried rice recipe actually starts with Step 4 with “add 1 1/2 tbsps oil …”

The recipe card would be clearer if you put “To the same pan, add 1 1/2 tablespoons more oil” into step 4 (instead of at the end of step 3–that way the entire step 3 can be skipped if the Schezwan sauce is prepared ahead of time).

5 stars
Just tried this schezwan rice recipe and it came out great! Thank you so much!

5 stars
Hi, awesome!! That’s the only word I will use for how this recipe turned out. I made the Schezwan sauce from scratch too, without vinegar because I don’t like its taste, and still it was hot favourite of my kids. They will surely forget all the brands they had made me purchase in the past. And the rice was finished in a blink. What can I say, it’s a dream of every mother’s to see the kids licking very last bits of food, and lo, i felt blessed. Thank you so much Swathi, for the perfect recipe.

5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5 stars
Hi swasthi, your recipes are too good and easy to follow.i want to know if I have schezwan sauce already instead of preparing it .how much I should add.

5 stars
Hi
Though never met you, I am at home in your kitchen.. any dish I want to try the first thing I check out is your page… by now almost everyone would have told you how wonderful your recipes are.. I too agree n would try more n more of those.. special thank you for the effort you put in each of them.. very detailed and informative also yummy …I want to tell you so much.. the joy we experienced after trying your recipes but somehow no words to express exactly how we feel .. all we can say is ….
Thank you

5 stars
This turned out just like it tastes at the restaurants! The Schezuan Sauce too! Thank you!

Great information. Thanks for posting this recipe…I wanted to try it since long.

Can you PLEASE suggest Amazon link for Schezwan sauce ? Particulary wanted to try your recommendation, as there are many many options – makes it confusing. (Focusing on EZ part of SchEZwan here!)

Hi can u mention how much quantity of red chilly powder v should take for making the paste

Hi dont have the Sichuan pepper..do I need to substitute it with something else

Hi, please can you tell me what sort of beans you add to the rice. I am in the UK so any equivalent would help. Thank you.

5 stars
Thank you for your recipes.

5 stars
Hi Swasthi, I’ve been trying your recipes from the time I got married. I love them all. I see you try to keep it as healthy as possible which I’m comfortable with since I have a lot of health restrictions.
Can I make this recipe without using soy sauce? Or do you know what I can use to substitute soy sauce?
Thank you

5 stars
HI SWASTHI I LIVE IN UK .TRIED SCHEZWAN FRIED RICE AND GOBI 65 YESTERDAY.CAME OUT VERY GOOD.THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE

5 stars
I LOVVVEEE YOUR RECIPES .DON’T YOU HAVE PASTA RECIPES? I M ACTUALLY A TEENAGER WHO LOVES COOKING. IF I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO COOK I ALWAYA COME IN YOUR SITE.

5 stars
Hi Swathi

your doing good job ….all .yummy yummy recipes.

5 stars
Tasty and tested recipes . Thank you

5 stars
very useful and very tasty when cooked using the recipe

5 stars
Hi.swathi..its really nice today i try this recipe..my fatherinlaw said its very nice ..thanks a looooooottttttt …love it..