Schezwan chicken fried rice is a very popular Indo-Chinese stir-fry. Boneless strips of chicken and rice are tossed in a hot and spicy schezwan sauce and vegetables to make a restaurant-style dish that tastes simply irresistible!
Want to try other Indo-Chinese recipes? Check out chicken shashlik and chicken hakka noodles for choice.
If you like hot and spicy, you're going to love this Chinese fried rice and chicken in schezwan (or szechuan) sauce. My version of this recipe is so easy to make especially if you have leftover rice and chicken. All you need then is a bottle of schezwan sauce and some basic pantry stuff to make yourself a quick and easy dinner for a busy weeknight.
In case you don't have readymade schezwan sauce and are craving nothing BUT schezwan chicken fried rice, no worries! It's not difficult to make schezwan sauce from scratch. Keep reading!
🥘Ingredients
Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.
- Chicken - I used boneless chicken breasts and sliced them into long strips.
- Rice - Long-grain Basmati rice works best here.
- Vegetables - you can swap out the green peppers for the veggies of your choice. Mushrooms, baby corn, green beans, and carrot matchsticks would work well. Don't skip the spring onions though.
- Ginger and garlic - finely chopped or minced fresh ginger and garlic taste best.
- Cooking oil - any neutral cooking oil like canola or sunflower will do.
- Sesame oil - for that distinct Chinese taste. Don't use too much though.
- Soy sauce - you can use regular soy sauce or a mix of regular and dark soy sauce. The dark soy sauce will turn the rice dark too and has a stronger taste.
- Schezwan sauce - an absolute must! I used Ching's Schezwan Stir Fry Sauce available in most supermarkets. For homemade sauce, scroll below.
🔪Instructions
1. Cook the chicken - heat half the oil in a frypan and add the chicken strips, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss until cooked through (3-4 minutes).
2. Cook the rice - Rinse the rice under cold running water in a sieve. Pour 7-8 glasses of water in a large pot, add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Add the rinsed Basmati rice and let it cook in the water without reducing the heat. Check after 5 minutes by pressing 2 or 3 grains of rice with your fingers. They should be cooked 90% through, not mushy or overcooked. Put the rice in a large sieve and allow all the water to drain through. Return the rice to the pot or spread it out in a platter for later use.
3. Chop the vegetables - slice the spring onions and green bell pepper. Finely chop the ginger and garlic.
4. Put a large wok or pan on medium heat and tip in the remaining oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the ginger and garlic and sauté for one minute.
5. Now turn on the heat to high and add the green bell pepper and spring onions. Sauté for one minute.
6. Add the cooked chicken strips and toss for a minute.
7. Now add the sauces - sesame oil, soy sauce, and schezwan sauce. Cook for a minute or until the sauce thickens.
8. Follow with the rice and toss with the rest of the ingredients (still on high heat) until the rice is well mixed and all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve hot.
Note: if using homemade schezwan sauce (ingredients and recipe below), don't add the extra ginger, garlic and soy sauce in the steps above. We are adding these ingredients to the sauce itself.
Homemade schezwan sauce
Here are the ingredients you will need if you want to make the schezwan sauce from scratch:
- 1 teaspoon szechuan or sichuan peppercorns - lightly toasted and ground. These peppercorns are quite hot with a zingy, mouth-numbing taste! They are available in T&T supermarket here in Canada, and I'm sure they can be found in any Chinese specialty store anywhere else.
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice - again, easily available at T&T or a store that stocks up on Chinese spices and condiments.
- 6-8 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water and ground - sub with 1 tablespoon chilli garlic paste or sambal oelek or sriracha.
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger paste or 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic paste or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch - to thicken, optional
Method: Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan, mix well with a spoon and put the saucepan on medium heat. Stir until the sauce comes together but is still of pourable consistency. Thicken with cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoon water if you want.
💭Top tips
- Prep all the ingredients beforehand - Ingredients go into the wok in quick succession so make sure you have everything chopped and ready beforehand.
- Sauté everything quickly on high heat - In Indo-Chinese cooking, ingredients are sautéed on relatively high heat in a wok. The goal is to cook food quickly without it becoming too soft, soggy or liquidy. You want the veggies to be cooked, but they should still retain their crisp edges. Be careful not to burn them though!
- The rice - make sure the rice is not overcooked or it will become too soft when added to the chicken.
- Serve the schezwan chicken fried rice while still hot - It tastes best when it is piping hot from the wok!
More chicken and rice recipes
📖 Recipe
Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice
Equipment
- 1 Frypan for shallow frying the chicken
- 1 big pot for cooking the rice
- 1 large wok for stir frying the vegetables, chicken and rice
- 1 big wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts medium-sized, cut into long strips
- 2 cups Basmati rice rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ tbsp ginger chopped fine
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic chopped fine
- 1 bunch spring onions ends cut off
- 1 green bell pepper large, chopped
- 4 tablespoon cooking oil divided
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup schezwan sauce
Instructions
- Cook the chicken - heat half the oil in a frypan and add the chicken strips, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss until cooked through (3-4 minutes).
- Cook the rice - Rinse the rice under cold running water in a sieve. Pour 7-8 glasses of water in a large pot, add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Add the rinsed Basmati rice and let it cook in the water without reducing the heat. Check after 5 minutes by pressing 2 or 3 grains of rice with your fingers. They should be cooked 90% through, not mushy or overcooked. Put the rice in a large sieve and allow all the water to drain through. Return the rice to the pot or spread it out in a platter for later use.
- Chop the vegetables - finely chop the ginger and garlic and slice the spring onions and green bell pepper.
- Put a large wok or pan on medium heat and tip in the remaining oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the ginger and garlic and sauté for one minute.
- Now turn on the heat to high and add the green bell pepper and spring onions. Sauté for one minute.
- Add the cooked chicken strips and toss for a minute.
- Add the sauces - sesame oil, soy sauce, and schezwan sauce. Cook for a minute or until the sauce thickens.
- Add the rice and toss with the rest of the ingredients (still on high heat) until the rice is well mixed and all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve hot.
Notes
- For homemade schezwan sauce, see the body of the post.
- Sauté all the ingredients quickly on high heat to prevent them from turning soggy or overcooked.
- The rice should be 90% cooked before adding it to the chicken.
- Prep all the ingredients before you start cooking.
- Serve the dish while it is still hot and fresh from the wok.
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