A tasty spicy Indo-Chinese recipe, that is quick and easy to make and so delicious along side noodles and/or fried rice
In today’s day and age where geographic distances have shrunk, it is only natural that it would impact food habits and food cultures too. It, therefore is not a wonder that we have a plethora of fusion food options. Likewise, the Indo-Chinese cuisine is one such fusion, where you see Indian food influences on the traditional Chinese one. This for you, is Chinese tweaked to suit the spicy Indian taste palette or Chinese food with an Indian “tadka.” When in India, you will very easily spot street food stalls to fine dining restaurants serving this very popular cuisine. And one such gem from that menu is the schezwan chicken gravy.
What is a schezwan sauce?
This chicken preparation is made with schezwan sauce – which has lots of red chillies and garlic. The sauce is made, essentially, by stir frying chopped garlic, ginger, celery stalks with a red chilli paste in oil. This, as you must have figured, is a spicy sauce and hence a spicy chicken recipe, and surely not for the faint hearted! However, having said that, you could always tweak the spice levels to adjust it to your taste. This you could do by using a mix of chilies that are high on heat and those that aren’t. I have shared the detailed recipe for the sauce, that you will require for this recipe, as well. Nevertheless, can also use the ready made ones available in Asian grocery stores.
This chicken recipe is a very quick and simple one and goes vey well with a fried rice or hakka noodles. Also, the glorious red colour that the chilies impart, makes the schezwan chicken gravy look even more appealing!
What to have the schezwan chicken gravy with
To my chicken gravy, I have also added bell peppers and mushrooms, but you may leave them out if you so please. This made with only onions also tastes fantastic. At the same time, if you wish to add more veggies please do so – it tastes equally good. Now, this is what I say is a winner winner chicken dinner! On the other hand, you could leave the chicken out and use more veggies, like baby corns and carrots, to make a yummy vegetable schezwan gravy too. In fact, adding tofu/paneer is also another super variation to this yummy recipe.
This can be your prefect weekend dinner, when you want to just sit at home and not step out. Stir up some noodles, this gravy, bring out your chopsticks, and you are all set. And for your quick weekday meal, cook some fragrant Jasmine rice and team it up with this chicken gravy. Furthermore, this recipe is amazing for those rainy evenings and chilly nights. Times when you truly crave for something spicy yet quick, this schezwan chicken gravy is your solution!
If you happen to give my recipes a try, I’d love to hear from you. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram and also drop your feedback in the comments section below.
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Schezwan chicken gravy
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot with lid
Ingredients
- 600 g chicken breast cut into thin strips
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp garlic chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger chopped
- 2 fresh green chilles optional
- 3 tbsp schezwan sauce
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
For the schezwan sauce
- 1 cup dried red chilies soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
- ¼ cup garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 tbsp celery or coriander stalks finely chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp salt
- ¼ cup oil
Instructions
To make the schezwan sauce
- Drain the chilies and add them to a blender jar (without their stalks). Blend to a smooth paste using as little water as possible. Keep it aside
- Heat the oil in a cooking pot, and add in the garlic and ginger. Sauteé over medium flame until fragrant and then add the celery (or coriander stalks), cook for couple minutes
- Then add in the chilli paste, stir well to mix and cook until oil leaves the sides of the pan. Add the salt, pepper and vinegar, mix well and remove in a bowl
To make the schezwan chicken
- Apply some salt and pepper to the diced chicken and leave it for 15 minutes. Heat some oil in a pan and add the chicken, sear it over high flame for 3-4 minutes, remove and set aside
- Heat the oil, add the ginger and garlic. Fry until fragrant and add the diced onion and bell peppers and sauteé for a couple minutes on high flame
- Add the mushrooms, the seared chicken pieces and cook for five more minutes
- Add all the three sauces, the chillies and mix well. Add half a cup of water and cook and check for seasoning now*, adjust if needed. Make a slurry of the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water at room temperature
- When the chicken is completely cooked and the sauce and once it starts simmering, pour in the cornstarch slurry. Mix well and once the gravy thickens, remove from flame
- Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and serve your schezwan chicken gravy, hot with rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can store the schezwan sauce bottled up for about a month. Make sure to top the sauce up with it's oil so that it doesn't spoil
- For the schezwan sauce you could use a mix of dried chilies that gives colour as well as heat
- *Be mindful of adding salt since all sauces as well as the chicken have salt in them
- You may add some sugar, before you add the cornstarch, to balance the spice levels
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
