Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice is a spicy and aromatic Indo-Chinese dish. It is made with cooked rice tossed with stir-fried chicken and vegetables, seasoned with schezwan sauce, soy sauce and pepper. Here’s an easy, step-by-step recipe with a quick video tutorial that shows you how to make this restaurant style spicy chicken fried rice at home within 30 minutes.
Love Indo-Chinese recipes? Check out this Dragon Chicken, Chicken Shashlik, and Hakka Noodles.
Chicken Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe
This Schezwan chicken fried rice recipe is so easy and versatile that you can make it with any protein like shrimp, tofu, paneer, or eggs. The best part of making this chicken schezwan fried rice recipe is that you can make it with whatever ingredients you have in your kitchen pantry. All you need is cooked rice, schezwan sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and a Wok.
Don’t have a wok? No problem. Take out your large skillet, pan, or Kadhai (Indian Wok) and get ready to make a quick and easy dinner recipe for busy weeknights. If you don’t have schezwan sauce, you can make it easily at home. Try this schezwan fried rice for quick meal on busy weekends.
Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients
Here’s a list of ingredients and their possible substitutions to make this spicy chicken fried rice recipe.
- Rice: I used long grain basmati rice to make this fried rice recipe. It cooks up long and slender, with a light, fluffy texture. Even Jasmine rice works fine. Don’t go for sticky rice or any rice that tends to become mushy after cooking isn't ideal for this stir-fry.
- Protein: I have used boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size cubes and eggs. You can go for boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders. Skip eggs or add any other protein like shrimp.
- Szechuan sauce: Schezwan or Szechuan sauce is the star of the dish. It’s the sauce that gives bright red color and spicy flavor to fried rice. It is real SPICY!!! But the spiciness is perfectly balanced with soy sauce and vinegar. You can purchase it easily at Asian grocery stores or make it easily at home.
- Soy Sauce: I used a combination of both dark and light soy sauce for the depth of flavor. However, only light soy sauce or regular soy sauce both will work fine here for this recipe.
For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.
How To Make Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice - Step by Step Method
Preparations
1. Prep the Rice: First, rinse the basmati rice in water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Then, drain the water and set the rice aside.
2. Cook the Rice: In a pot, heat 4-5 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Once the water boils, add the rice. Cook the rice until it’s al dente, which means it's cooked but still has a slight bite to it.
3. Drain the water and immediately spread the rice on a wide plate or tray to cool down to room temperature for 15 minutes. Then, for best results, refrigerate the rice for 2 hours. It is an important step as the cold, dry rice fries better.
4. Chop the vegetables and aromatics: Chop them fine in uniform sizes for quick and even cooking.
5. Marinate the Chicken: In a bowl, mix the chicken with soy sauce, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Let the chicken sit in this marinade for a while (marinating) to absorb the flavors.
6. Whisk the Eggs: In another bowl, whisk together 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Making Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
1. Scramble the Eggs: Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan or wok over medium-low heat. Pour in the egg mixture and scramble it until cooked. Don’t overcook it. Set the scrambled eggs aside.
2. Cook the Chicken: Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in the same pan or wok over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken, stir and cook it until it's browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
3. Sauté the Aromatics: Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Once hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Then, add the onions and stir-fry them until they turn light golden brown.
4. Add the Veggies: Add vegetables to the pan and cook them until they are slightly soft but still have a bit of a crunch.
5. Fry the Rice: Now for the fun part! Add the cooled rice to the pan, stir to combine with the vegetables. Stir gently to combine everything without breaking the rice. Cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the Sauce & combine: Pour in the Schezwan sauce, soy sauce, and pepper. Stir-fry everything together and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the cooked chicken and scrambled eggs back to the pan.
7. Toss everything together until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or Schezwan sauce, if desired. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve it hot and enjoy!
Watch Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice Recipe Video
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Prepare in advance: Get everything chopped, cooked, and ready to go before you even turn on the heat. This means having your veggies chopped, rice cooked, sauces ready, spices handy, chicken cubed, and eggs beaten. Why? Because stir-frying is super fast, and you don't want to be searching the ingredients around while your food burns!
- High heat: Fried rice is all about getting that restaurant-style taste at home. High heat on your stovetop helps cook the rice without making it mushy, and it also gives the veggies and chicken a nice sear for extra smoky flavor.
- Cold rice: For perfect fried rice, you want rice that's not mushy or sticky. Actually leftover rice that's been chilling in the fridge for a day is best to make fried rice. But no worries, if you don't have any leftovers! You can use freshly cooked rice, just make sure you cook it al dente (a bit firm) and then let it cool completely in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This cooling trick helps the rice grains dry out a little, so they fry up nice and separate in your fried rice.
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with schezwan chicken fried rice:
Storage & Reheating
If you are planning to store the leftover schezwan chicken fried rice then store them within 2 hours of cooking. Transfer them to an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Label the container with the date.
Before consuming check for any signs of spoilage. If there are black spots, foul smell or bad taste discard immediately.
To Reheat: Sprinkle some water over it and heat it in a pan over medium heat. Sir them at regular intervals for even heating. Serve hot and enjoy.
Related
Looking for other Indo-Chinese recipes like this? Try these:
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Recipe Card
Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice
Equipment
- 1 A wide pan/wok/skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Basmati rice or Jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
Marinate the chicken
- 300 grams chicken breasts cut into bite-sized cubes
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce light or regular
- 1 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of salt (or more)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
For scrambled eggs
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
To make schezwan chicken fried rice
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ cup finely chopped onions
- ¼ cup finely chopped carrots
- ¼ cup finely chopped bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped cabbage
- ¼ cup finely chopped beans
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon schezwan sauce
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- (I used combination of
- 1 teaspoon dark and 1 teaspoon light soy sauce)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
Preparations
- Prep the rice: First, rinse the basmati rice in water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Then, drain the water and set the rice aside.
- Cook the rice: In a pot, heat 4-5 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Once the water boils, add the rice. Cook the rice until it’s al dente, which means it's cooked but still has a slight bite to it.
- Drain the water and immediately spread the rice on a wide plate or tray to cool down to room temperature for 15 minutes. Then, for best results, refrigerate the rice for 2 hours. Bonus Tip: It is an important step as the cold, dry rice fries better.
- Chop the vegetables and aromatics: Chop them fine in uniform sizes for quick and even cooking.
- Marinate the chicken: In a bowl, mix the chicken with soy sauce, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Let the chicken sit in this marinade for a while (marinating) to absorb the flavors.
- Whisk the eggs: In another bowl, whisk together 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Making Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
- Scramble the eggs: Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan or wok over medium-low heat. Pour in the egg mixture and scramble it until cooked. Don’t overcook it. Set the scrambled eggs aside.
- Cook the chicken: Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in the same pan or wok over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken, stir and cook it until it's browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Once hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Then, add the onions and stir-fry them until they turn light golden brown.
- Add the veggies: Add vegetables to the pan and cook them until they are slightly soft but still have a bit of a crunch.
- Fry the rice: Now for the fun part! Add the cooled rice to the pan, stir to combine with the vegetables. Stir gently to combine everything without breaking the rice. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce & combine: Pour in the Schezwan sauce, soy sauce, and pepper. Stir-fry everything together and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the cooked chicken and scrambled eggs back to the pan.
- Toss everything together until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or Schezwan sauce, if desired. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve it hot and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Prepare in advance: Get everything chopped, cooked, and ready to go before you even turn on the heat. This means having your veggies chopped, rice cooked, sauces ready, spices handy, chicken cubed, and eggs beaten. Why? Because stir-frying is super fast, and you don't want to be searching the ingredients around while your food burns!
- High heat: Fried rice is all about getting that restaurant-style taste at home. High heat on your stovetop helps cook the rice without making it mushy, and it also gives the veggies and chicken a nice sear for extra smoky flavor.
- Cold rice: For perfect fried rice, you want rice that's not mushy or sticky. Actually leftover rice that's been chilling in the fridge for a day is best to make fried rice. But no worries, if you don't have any leftovers! You can use freshly cooked rice, just make sure you cook it al dente (a bit firm) and then let it cool completely in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This cooling trick helps the rice grains dry out a little, so they fry up nice and separate in your fried rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Rax
I tried this Schezwan chicken fried rice and it was absolutely delicious. The spices are just right. Made it with your homemade Schezwan sauce. thanks for sharing. I highly recommend everyone to give this a try.
Preeti
I'm so glad you enjoyed the Schezwan chicken fried rice and that the homemade sauce worked out so well for you. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback and for the recommendation. It means a lot!