Homemade Schezwan Sauce Recipe

Schezwan sauce recipe to perk up your Indo chinese recipes. Spicy, pungent and absolutely flavorful sauce in flat 20 minutes, vegan & gluten free. So what are making first with this sauce? Schezwan fried rice or schezwan noodles or simply dunk your momos in it?

If you were born in India and love street food, you have probably tasted or at least heard of this schezwan sauce. Yes that fiery spicy yet subtly sweet sauce that is so vibrant that it immediately catches all eyes.

I used love this momos schezwan sauce combination in our office cafeteria. I still remember when I started cooking regularly, I noted down the recipe for this sauce from a worn out book and made it every week, yes it was a weekly affair for us.

Though meant for Chinese cuisine, we love this sichuan sauce with toast, dosa paratha too. After all taste and flavors matter right?

This Schezwan Sauce Recipe Is

Insanely delicious, absolutely addictive, you cannot get enough

Very easy to make with pantry staples

Vegan & gluten free

Versatile with multiple uses

Perks up the flavor of every and any meal

Best sauce for Indo Chinese recipes.

While this sauce looks super complex and potent, it is insanely easy to make at home and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already 🙂

The prep time for this schezwan sauce is very less, you just need to soak some chilies beforehand that’s it.

So we shall make schezwan sauce today or if you are a purist you would call it sichuan sauce ).

Why Sichuan? Because this sauce originates from Sichuan region and uses chilies from there traditionally.

However we can easily make schezwan sauce recipe with whatever chilies you have or prefer. Just note that flavor and taste will depend on the chilies you use.

Here I have used the ones I use in my daily cooking. Long, slender dried chilies. I don’t prefer to use Kashmiri red chilies for this sauce. They add only color to the sauce, keeping the flavor and taste mild. We prefer our schezwan sauce fiery hot 🙂

Having said that if you do not prefer very spicy sauce, go ahead and use kashmiri red chilies or even a mix of regular and kashmiri chilies.

If dried chilies are not available you can even use chili flakes. I always add 1/4 teaspoon crushed sichuan peppers to make schezwan sauce recipe. They are less pungent and has a delicate flavor. If you don’t have ot, just skip adding it.

Apart from chilies we also need fresh ginger, garlic, tomato paste and celery. I also like to add a dash of vinegar and soy sauce for this sauce. They add depth and flavor to this schezwan sauce wonderfully.

Finally I always make schezwan sauce with sesame oil. It simply elevates the flavor and lends such authentic taste to indo chinese cuisine like fried rice, chili garlic noodles, chili potatoes etc.

Recipe Notes & Tips

Storage Instructions: This schezwan sauce keeps well for 15-20 days in refrigerator. Store in a clean dry jar and serve as required.

Just like our Indian pickles, be generous with oil. If you make this with more oil floating on top, the shelf life will increase.

Also the oil  from this sauce is super tasty that use it directly in salads as infused oil.

This sauce freezes very well. You can use big jars or portion out in ice cube tray or small boxes and freeze.

Make sure to cook in low flame until thickens well to increase the shelf life.

Step By Step Method

Pick 25 dried red chilies and soak in warm water for an hour.

Break the stalks and take the chilies in a grinder jar. Add few tablespoons water and grind to as smooth paste as possible.Set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a wok or pan. Add crushed sichuan peppers, 6 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 cup shallots. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown the garlic or onions. If shallots are not available use regular onions.

Next add the ground chili paste and mix.

Cook in medium flame for 5-6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Now add water and bring everything together.

Add celery.

Season with salt rice vinegar and soy sauce.

Add sugar and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Finally add freshly milled black pepper and mix well.

Add 3 more tablespoons sesame oil and simmer till oil floats atop for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from flame.

Let the schezwan sauce cool completely before storing. Store in airtight containers and refrigerate.

How To Use Schezwan Sauce?

In multiple ways as you please. You can make schezwan fried rice, schezwan noodles, sichuan paneer.

You can also use this schezwan sauce as dipping sauce for veg momos, paneer momos, veg rolls, spring rolls.

Believe me, with a jar of this sichuan sauce in your hand you will never have a dull meal. It simply perks up and adds so much flavor.

Even if you are not preparing an all out indo chinese fare, you can simply mix a few spoons of this sauce in your salad dressings, use as spread in toasts, use as spread for wraps, tortillas.

I am sure you will find more than one way to use this schezwan sauce, this will simply keep calling you 🙂

Are you making this schezwan sauce recipe? I would love to see a snap of your creation too. Do snap a pic and share on Instagram with hashtag #cookclickndevou and please give a star rating ★ in the recipe card above. Follow us on Pinterest , Instagram, Facebook   for more recipes and ideas