Schezwan fried rice with veg manchurian is one of our favorite Indo-Chinese combos to order at a restaurant. Both my husband and my son are big fans of both of these dishes. So I make them quite frequently at home. My theme for this week’s blogging marathon is ‘rice recipes’. I am going to redo some of my old rice recipes with updated recipe card and photos.
Vegetarian Schezwan Fried Rice:
This is spicy fried rice that is made with tons of veggies and flavored with schezwan sauce. Homemade schezwan sauce is quite easy to make. Most of the ingredients are readily available in the pantry. If you don’t have time to make it, then store bought sauce can be used in a pinch.
Ingredients for Indo-Chinese Chili fried Rice:
Here are the main ingredients needed to make this spicy fried rice:
Rice - I generally use sona masoori rice to make fried rice. Brown rice would be great too. I feel basmati rice has a unique flavor that doesn’t work in Indo-Chinese dishes. Most important thing to make sure is to use cold/ room temperature rice. Cook rice at least 2 hours ahead of time or make extra the day before and chill it until ready to use.Schezwan Sauce - homemade is the best because you can control the spice levels. But store bought sauce would definitely work.Vegetables - This dish can be packed with any number of vegetables. Feel free to customize it to your family likes and preferences. Any non-watery vegetables can be added like cabbage, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom, baby corn and so on are some delicious additions.Protein - To make this a wholesome one-pot meal, add any protein of choice. Tofu, paneer, scrambled eggs, soy granules (TVP) are great vegetarian protein options. We love crispy tofu in this dish (recipe follows).
Tips & Ideas to make quick & easy fried rice:
The most time consuming part of making this dish is getting the ingredients ready. This includes the chopping of vegetables which could take forever if you are a slow chopper. To expedite this part of the process, I buy bagged ‘Coleslaw’ mix, which is basically thinly sliced cabbage and carrots. These are the two main ingredients needed for this dish and I don’t have the knife skills to chop cabbage that thin and precise anyway. So whenever I plan to make any type of fried rice, I simply buy a bag of coleslaw. Also, frozen stir fried vegetable mixes are great time savers. They have onions, peppers, broccoli and other veggies that will work great in this recipe. So once you have the cooled rice, schezwan sauce ready and veggies prepped, then the actual dish itself can be made in about 15~20 minutes.
How to make Crispy Tofu:
My kids love tofu especially this crispy fried ones. These are so crispy, addictive and delicious that half of them disappear even before they are added to any recipe. Here’s how I make them:
Lay extra firm tofu on a kitchen towel or paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Slice the block through the middle and then cut into ½" thick pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet or a wok; add the tofu and cook stirring occasionally until golden brown on all sides. Add soy sauce, nutritional yeast (if using), salt and pepper. Mix well and cook till nice and crispy. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
Serve the fried rice with either veg manchurian or gobhi manchurian for a filling and delicious Indo-Chinese meal. Linking this to Valli’s BM# 109 and don’t forget to check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today.
