Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice is a spicy and aromatic Indo-Chinese dish 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 dish at home within 30 minutes.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time25 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Servings: 4people
Author: Preeti
Equipment
1 A wide pan/wok/skillet
Ingredients
Basmati riceor Jasmine rice
Marinate the chicken
300gchicken breastscut into bite-sized cubes
2teaspoonsoy saucelight or regular
1teaspoonwhite pepperor black pepper
¼teaspoonof salt (or more)
1teaspoonvinegar
For scrambled eggs
2eggs
a pinch of salt
½teaspoonwhite pepperor black pepper
To make schezwan chicken fried rice
2teaspoonoil
2teaspoonfinely chopped garlic
1teaspoonfinely chopped ginger
½cupfinely chopped onions
¼cupfinely chopped carrots
¼cupfinely chopped bell pepper
¼cupfinely chopped cabbage
¼cupfinely chopped beans
salt to taste
2tablespoonschezwan sauce
2teaspoonsoy sauce
(I used combination of
1teaspoondark and 1 teaspoon light soy sauce)
½teaspoonwhite 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.