We love Indo-Chinese food in our home, especially my husband and my son. They can eat manchurian, fried rice or noodles every single day. So today I have a spicy condiment that is great to add in recipe to get that restaurant taste.
Schezwan sauce:
The first thing that comes to mind, when I hear the word Schezwan is fiery red condiment that makes any dish extra spicy. I generally stay away from ordering it at Indian restaurants because I cannot handle too much heat. So the best thing to do is make it at home because nothing beats homemade condiments and sauces. Because it is easy to control what goes into it and of course, the amount of spice. Homemade sauces have no preservatives and are much healthier than the ones in the bottle.
Ingredients for Homemade Schechuan sauce:
This is an Indo-Chinese fusion condiment. It is quite different from the traditional Sichuan Chili sauce that is made in China both. Most of the ingredients for this Indo Chinese chili-garlic spice paste are pretty basic. Here is the list of things you need:
Sichuan peppercorns - These pinkish peppercorns are quite special. They are not to spicy or hot like the black peppercorns. These have a milder taste with a unique flavor and leave a tingling sensation in the mouth. They are generally available in Asian grocery stores or online spice stores. Sichuan peppercorns give a unique taste to the sauce. But if you cannot find them, use ½ tsp of regular peppercorns for some kick or simply leave them out.
Dry Red Chilies - These decide how hot the Schezwan sauce is going to be. I used Guntur chilies, these are similar to chile de arbol and are very hot. So you can either use less of those or try a milder chili like Byadgi or Kashmiri red chili to make less spicy.Fresh GingerGarlic clovesGreen OnionsSoy sauce - I prefer to use low-sodium.Brown Sugar or Palm Sugar or Coconut sugarRice Vinegar - or use white or apple cider vinegar
Soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar help in mellowing down the spiciness and also balance out the flavors.
How to make Indo-Chinese Chili Garlic Sauce:
Recipe is adapted from Veg Recipes of India. First thing to do is to rehydrate the dry red chilies for half an hour. Once they are plump, you are good to go and in less than 30 minutes spicy Schezwan chili sauce will be ready to use. This chili sauce is spicy, tangy and sweet all at the same time. Balance of flavors is key to this sauce. So use the given recipe as a starting point and adjust the ingredients based on your taste preference. The prepared sauce can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
How to use Schezwan Sauce:
The sauce can also be used to make schezwan fried rice, noodles, or even used to dip momos or dumplings.
