Schezwan Sauce Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 15 votes

Easy homemade Indo-Chinese Hot Sauce

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Soaking the chilies30

Total Time1 5

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese, Indian, Indo-Chinese

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: portions

Calories: 41kcal

Author: Elle John

Ingredients

4 tablespoon Sunflower Oil
90 g Fresh Ginger
90 g Fresh Garlic
90 g Spring Onion the White Part of the Vegetable
15 Dried Kashmiri Chilies
2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
2 teaspoon Brown Sugar (Muscovado, or Demerara)
1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce Thick
1 ½ tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon Ajinomoto Chinese Salt
Salt to Taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a jar or small jug, put the 15 dried Kashmiri chilies and cover them with warm water; to keep them under the water to soak, choose a container that is slightly wider than a glass, so then you can use a glass to hold the chilies underwater and stop them from floating. Allow the chilies to soak for at least half an hour.
Finely chop the ginger and garlic in small cubes no more than 1,5mm in size; thinly chop the white part of the spring onion as well. Set all aside.
In a pan, warm up the sunflower oil on medium heat, but do not allow it to overheat; once warm add the ginger and garlic and reduce the flame to low. Allow these to cook slowly, without browning, until the rawness has gone (about 2-3 minutes), then add the chopped spring onion.
Mix well and allow to cook on a low flame for a further 4-5 minutes.
In the meantime, drain the Kashmiri Red Chilies, but keep their water on the side; remove the top of the chilies, if the green part is still there, then grind them to a paste using a little bit of the water they soaked in if needed. Put this chili sauce aside.
Once ginger, garlic, and spring onions are cooked, add the Kashmiri chili paste and tomato paste to the pan and mix well again; always keeping them on low heat, cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the tomato and chili paste are cooked through.
At this stage add the brown sugar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and Ajinomoto and mix well; you will need to allow this to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, so add some water from the chilies if necessary.
Once this all has cooked for 10 minutes longer on a low flame, you can add the last half a tablespoon of vinegar and adjust the salt. Mix well and cook for a further minute or two, then allow to cool down before storing in the fridge.

Video

Notes

Ginger and garlic can be time-consuming to prepare, so, if available, I would recommend opting for freshly frozen ones. Should you not find these, simply peel the ginger and garlic and use a food processor to chop. Do not use ginger garlic paste as an alternative, as it won't work.

Dried red chilies can be used as a partial substitute for Kashmiri Chilies, however, I wouldn't recommend using more than 50% red chilies in the recipe, as the Schezwan sauce may become too strong, but play around with proportions to find your perfect spice level.

If you have crushed Sichuan Pepper, which is the one that gives the name to the recipe, you can add half a teaspoon to the saucepan once the ginger, garlic, and green onions are cooked.

Schezwan Sauce can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-6 weeks, as the vegetable oil and vinegar used help preserve it longer. Ensure you use a clean spoon every time you use the Schezwan sauce.

Nutrition