schezwan sauce recipe with step by step photos – a fusion indo chinese recipe of a spicy and hot chili sauce. this is one of the popular sauce recipe from the indo chinese cuisine.
schezwan sauce is a versatile red chilli garlic sauce and can also be had as a dip. in india, it is also called as schezwan chutney. the chilies added in this schezwan sauce are dry red chilies, besides lots of garlic and bit of shallots.
how to serve schezwan sauce
schezwan sauce can be served as condiment with snacks like potato wedges or veg cutlet, french fries, spring roll and veg momos. even with the indian pakoras, the sauce goes amazingly well. apart from being served as a condiment, schezwan sauce is also added to indo chinese recipes like schezwan fried rice and schezwan noodles.
whenever i plan to make schezwan fried rice or any other schezwan based dish, a day before i make the sauce. if you add more oil than what is mentioned in the recipe and keep a bit of oil floating on the top, the sauce has a longer shelf life. after adding the sauce to all the recipes, i make, the remaining sauce is served as a condiment to go with snacks. the schezwan sauce stays good in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 weeks.
i have used a mix of the mildly hot indian variety of kashmiri red chilies and byadagi chilies. they give a good color, flavor and taste good too. depending on your taste buds and spice tolerance, you can choose chilies with low heat or medium heat.
usually, i add celery to the schezwan sauce. but this time, my celery plants could not survive the heat in the summers. but if you have celery, then do add them to the sauce.
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schezwan sauce recipe
INGREDIENTS FOR schezwan sauce recipe
- 20 dry red chilies (sookhi lal mirch) - less hot or medium hot. i added a mix of 15 kashmiri and 4-5 byadagi dry red chilies
- 4 to 5 shallots Or 1 small onion - finely chopped
- 15 garlic cloves (lahsun) - finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger (adrak) - finely chopped
- 2 to 2.5 tablespoon water for grinding the red chilies
- ½ cup water to be added later
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 3 to 4 sichuan peppers, optional (skip if you don' have)
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped celery, optional (skip if you don't have)
- 1 to 2 teaspoon organic unrefined cane sugar or brown sugar - please add as required. for a more sweeter taste, you can even add up to 3 teaspoon sugar.
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper powder (kali mirch powder) or as required
- ½ teaspoon light soy sauce or as required
- 3 to 4 tablespoon sesame oil or any vegetable oil
- salt as required
HOW TO MAKE schezwan sauce recipe
preparation for schezwan sauce
- rinse and then soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes.
- you can also de-seed the chilies before you soak them.
- drain. remove the stems and then break the chilies. add them to a chutney grinder or blender. add water and make a smooth paste of the red chilies.
- crush the sichuan peppers coarsely in a mortar-pestle.
making schezwan sauce
- heat sesame oil or any other vegetable oil in a pan.
- add the garlic and ginger first and saute till their raw aroma goes away. don't brown them.
- add the chopped shallots and then saute them till translucent.
- add the ground red chili paste and stir.
- then add the crushed sichuan pepper. saute for 1 to 2 minutes more till you see oil from the sides of the sauce.
- add 1/2 cup of water and give a stir again. simmer for 2 mins.
- add salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. also add celery now, if using.
- stir and continue to cook for 5 to 6 minutes more.
- check the taste of schezuan sauce and add more salt, sugar or pepper as required.
- once the schezuan sauce cools down collect it in a small jar or bowl. cover tightly with a lid and refrigerate.
- serve schezwan sauce as a condiment with snacks or you can also add in recipes like schezwan fried rice or noodles, vegetable schezwan or veg balls in hot garlic sauce.
- the schezwan sauce stays good for about 2 to 3 weeks in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
how to make schezwan sauce
1. rinse and then soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. you can also de-seed the chilies before you soak them.
2. drain and then remove the stalks. break the chilies. add them to a chutney grinder or blender.
3. add water and make a smooth paste of the red chilies.
4. crush the sichuan peppers coarsely in a mortar-pestle. keep aside. if you do not have sichuan peppers, then skip them.
making schezwan sauce
5. heat sesame oil or any other vegetable oil in a pan.
6. add the garlic and ginger first and saute till their raw aroma goes away. don’t brown them.
7. add the chopped shallots and then saute them till translucent.
8. add the ground red chilli paste
9. stir well.
10. then add the crushed sichuan pepper. if you don’t have sichuan peppers, then just skip this step.
11. saute for 1 to 2 minutes more till you see oil leaving the sides of the sauce. pour water and give a stir again.
12. simmer for 2 mins.
13. add sugar, salt, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. stir and continue to cook schezuan sauce for 5 to 6 minutes more.
14. once the schezwan sauce cools down collect it in a small jar or bowl. cover tightly with a lid and refrigerate.
15. serve schezwan sauce as a condiment with snacks or you can also add in recipes which requires schezwan sauce.
Made this recipe many times and loved it. So simple to make.
Madam, you have not mentioned when to add cane sugar
sugar is added when salt, soy sauce, pepper is added.
thanks. i have updated in the post.
I love all your recipes. Tips given buy you are really very helpful. Whenever I want to make something, I always follow your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing 😊
thanks rashmi for this lovely comment. glad to read it. thanks again and happy cooking.
Hello,
How may garlic should one use if they’re the bigger ones ? Where is live at the garlic pods are really big. Should I still be using 15 pieces of garlic then ?
take about 6 to 7 garlic pods then.
Thank you 😁
Really easy and wonderful dear dassana…thanks for th schezwan sauce recipe….tastes exactly like the store bought one didnt know it is quite simple….tnx a ton 4 ur dishes
Welcome Aishu. Glad to know that you liked schezwan sauce recipe
Very good recipe thanks
welcome suheil
Thank you very much.
Making style is very nice
welcome sk rahaman
Came out really well. Too good. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome Rithika
wow !! yummy Schezwan Chutney recipe ..thanks for the recipe. i will definately try today.
Welcome Asha
thanks DA for yummy recipes.For schezwan sauce can i substitute vinegar with 1tbsp lemon juice
you can use lemon juice. i would suggest to add half tablespoon first. if the tang is less, then you can add half tablespoon later.
Can i use it to eat mc donald chicken nugget
you can.
How long does this last in the fridge?
its stays good for a few weeks. if you want to keep it longer then just cover the sauce with a layer of sesame oil.
i forgot to add sugar is it ok?or can i add now its already as become cold.?
you can powder the sugar and then add. or just warm it up and then add sugar, so that the sugar dissolves. or mix the sugar in a bit of warm water very well. then add this sugar solution to the schezwan sauce.
This recipe is so much like the traditional Rajasthani chilly and garlic chutney.
Thanks a lot for the receipe. I tried this and it tasted just like restaurant food.
thanks kamal.
Thank you so much for all the wonderful sauces recipes. They are great and comes handy. Your site is just awesome. So many yummy recipes. Thank you ?
welcome rhea. glad to know that you liked the recipes and the website.
i have tryed today but it becum to much very much spice cant tell so much spice it was wanna try it again…
schezwan sauce is spicy. add a puree of 1 large tomato and cook it with the sauce. add some sugar also just to make the sauce lightly sweet and it will balance the tang of the tomatoes also.
I made this sauce today. Turned out very good. My food processor did not do a good job of grinding the red chilies. Next time I’ll use my vitamix because I’m definitely going to make it again.
Thanks Madhav for sharing positive feedback on Schezwan sauce recipe.
I have made this sauce three times till date and everytime i made it, my wife loved it. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I skipped celery since my wife doesn’t like it but still this is so yumm… Thanks once again and GOD bless!!
Welcome Kunal. Glad to know that you both like the schezwan sauce recipe. Thanks for your positive feedback and best wishes.
What can we use instead of vineager?
just skip it.
Super tasty.. loved by everyone at home 🙂 Thanx a lot
welcome and thankyou zehra 🙂
This is really helpfull for me first of all check than i will do how to make
Can I use fresh red chilies instead? If so, how many?
you can use fresh red chilies. add about 10 to 12, depending on the heat intensity. if less hot, then add about 12. if medium then add 10.
How long is the shelf life?
nick if you place them in the freezer it could last for up yo 2-3 months also. hope this help’s you.
Your recipe is very easy &delicious . I love it.
thankyou so much alka 🙂