This homemade Schezwan sauce is fiery, garlicky, and totally addictive — perfect for tossing into noodles, rice, or using as a spicy dip! The best part? You can make a batch and keep it in the fridge for whenever those Indo-Chinese cravings hit.
I’ve always been that person asking for extra Schezwan Sauce with my momos so it just made sense for me to start making it at home! It’s cleaner, pocket-friendly, and I can now put this schezwan chutney on everything – dosas, fried rice, noodles. It also makes for a great dipping sauce.forliterally any snack from spring rolls to chakli, and is a must to have in the fridge for whenever those Indo-Chinese cravings hit!
My sister and I have the BEST childhood memories of ordering extra schezwan sauce at our fav Chinese restaurant just to take home and eat it with papad the next day. You guys have to trust me on this combination. It is the ultimate chatpata snack! And now I can have it all the time, and the best part? This Schezwan Sauce recipe is fresh and preservative-free, just how we like it.
Jump to section: Schezwan Sauce
Schezwan Sauce Ingredients
- Chillies: I used a combination of Byadgi Chillies (for heat) and Kashmiri Chillies (for colour and flavour). You can change the proportions a little if you want it to be more or less spicy.
The chillies are soaked in hot water to soften them and then blended with a little bit of that water into a coarse paste. We don’t want to break them down completely because we want texture as well. So keep the mixture coarse where you can still see bits of chillies
- Shallots/Sambar Onions/Pearl Onions: Any of these smaller varieties of onions will work here. They have a milder flavour than red onions and soften beautifully
- Garlic and Ginger: Lots of finely chopped garlic and ginger. I usually buy peeled garlic when I make this schezwan sauce/ schezwan chutney to make life easier
- Ketchup: My favourite thing to add when I’m making Indo Chinese because it has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, acidic
- Sugar: Might seem like a lot but you need this to balance out the heat from the chillies
- Soy Sauce: Light soy sauce to add that hit of umami
- Vinegar: To add acidity. Use synthetic or rice vinegar
- Oil: There is 1/3 cup of oil in this recipe. I don’t recommend reducing it. The oil does two things – it helps cook the chillies till they are jammy and helps preserve this sauce so that it can last up to a month in the fridge
How to make Schezwan Sauce
This is a simple recipe that has a lot of hands off time while the sauce is simmering and reducing
- Soak: Soak the chillies in hot water to soften them. I like to discard the stems before soaking
- Blend: Blend to a coarse paste with a little water. The smoother the chilli paste, the less texture you’ll have in the sauce. And that texture makes a big difference
- Saute: Saute the ginger, garlic and onions in oil till they soften but be careful not to brown the onions. As soon as they are translucent, you know they are ready.
- Chillies: Add the coarsely blended chillies and all the other ingredients along with water and mix well
- Simmer: Let the sauce come to a simmer and then cover and cook, stirring occasionally in between till the sauce reduces and takes on a jammy consistency. You should also see oil floating on top. That’s when you know the sauce is ready and the chillies have cooked down. This process can take anywhere between 25-40 minutes.
- Cool and store: Let the sauce cool completely before you transfer it to an airtight container. This will last for up to 4 weeks in the fridge (if you don’t finish it before that 😂)
Frequently Asked Questions
Schezwan sauce is an Indo-Chinese spicy chutney made with red chillies, garlic, vinegar, and sugar. It’s used in fried rice, noodles, stir-fries, and famously, as a dip for momos at streetside stalls.
Yes! It’s fiery, but the heat is balanced with tang from vinegar and a hint of sweetness. Using Kashmiri chillies makes it less sharp but still bold.
It stays fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week. For longer storage, freeze in small portions and thaw before use.
Yes, but the color will be less vibrant and the sauce spicier. Adjust the chillies based on your spice preference.
Richa’s Top Tips
- The proportion of chillies will determine heat levels in this sauce. You can play around with this proportion based on how spicy you’d like your schezwan chutney/sauce to be I wouldn’t recommend reducing the oil in this recipe as it helps preserve the sauce so that it can be stored for a month or so. We’ll also be using very small quantities of it for dipping or as a condiment so the total calories are not very high
- Use a chopper or food processor to chop the shallots, ginger and garlic finely. Makes the task much faster!
- Taste and adjust sugar, vinegar, and salt until balanced.
- Make sure to cool the schezwan sauce before storing and refrigerating.
- Store in the fridge in a clean, dry glass jar.
Serving Suggestions
If you still aren’t convinced about this low-effort high-rewards sauce, here are a few more reasons:
- Use the sauce with stir fried veggies and rice to dole out spicy schezwan fried rice in minutes or create a Lazy Girl’s Schezwan Chicken Bowl
- Coat manchurian balls with schezwan sauce for schezwan manchurian (Majorly Indo-Chinese)
- Do a triple schezwan with rice, noodles and crispy noodles – Triple reward!
- Use this sauce as a dipping sauce for chicken lollipops, chicken nuggets, veg nuggets, fries, wedges, chips and papad
- Slather on parathas, roll it up and enjoy a quick snack
Storage Suggestions
- Storage: The sauce can be store in a clean, air tight container in the fridge for up to a month
- Freezer Friendly: You can also portion the sauce and freeze it and it can last for up to 3 months. I sometimes like to portion it out into ice trays and freeze it. Once frozen, I remove the cubes, transfer them to a zip lock and freeze. Then I have perfect portions anytime I want to thaw them.
Ever since I discovered this Schezwan Sauce recipe, I make a large batch at least once a month and use it for as long as it lasts (which TBH, is not that long!). I have this with everything!! Once you try this, you’ll never go back to store-bought and I think that’s beautiful ❤️
If you liked this recipe, be sure to check my other saucy Indo-Chinese recipes like these Chilli Chicken Noodles and Corn Bhel!
Watch Schezwan Sauce Recipe Video
How To Make Schezwan Sauce (Step by Step Video)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Vegetable oil
- 15 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 1/2 inch Ginger finely chopped
- 6 Shallots or Sambhar Onions, minced
- 23 Kashmiri Red Chilies
- 3 Byadgi Chillies
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Water
- 2 tablespoons Ketchup
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt to taste
Instructions
-
Soak the chillies in hot water for half an hour. Add only the chillies to a blender along with 2-3 tbsp water and blend to a coarse paste
-
Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger. Saute on a low flame till the raw aroma goes. Be careful not to brown or burn the ginger garlic.
-
Add the minced onions and let them cook on a low flame till they soften and turn translucent. Be careful not to let them brown.
-
Once the onions look like they are almost melting, add ground chilies, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, salt and 1/4 cup water. Mix well.
-
Bring this to a boil and simmer till the sauce thickens. Oil should have separated, and there should be some oil floating on top.
-
Switch off the flame and let it cool. Once the sauce has completely cooled down, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 15 days.
Video
Notes
- Chillies: I used a combination of Byadgi Chillies (for heat) and Kashmiri Chillies (for colour and flavour). You can change the proportions a little if you want it to be more or less spicy.
- Shallots/Sambar Onions/Pearl Onions: Any of these smaller varieties of onions will work here. They have a milder flavour than red onions and soften beautifully
- Simmer: You should also see oil floating on top. That’s when you know the sauce is ready and the chillies have cooked down. This process can take anywhere between 25-40 minutes.
- Cool and store: Let the sauce cool completely before you transfer it to an airtight container. This will last for up to 4 weeks in the fridge.
- The nutrition label below is for 15 servings
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Navya Khetarpal.
The post Schezwan Sauce | Schezwan Chutney appeared first on My Food Story.
0 Comments