Homemade Schezwan Sauce Recipe - Spice Up The Curry (2024)

Once you try this easy homemade schezwan sauce recipe you’ll never be able to go back to the bottled stuff. It’s ‘extremely’ spicy, pungent with delicious flavor and it’s from Indian-Chinese cuisine.

Schezwan sauce also spells as ‘Szechuan sauce’ or ‘Sichuan sauce’.

❤️ Origin Of Schezwan Sauce

Schezwan sauce is a hot and spicy sauce that originated from Sichuan province in southwest China. It is from the Sichuan cuisine and has bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as sichuan peppers.

The version I am sharing today is the Indo-Chinese take on the original version. That is used in making many other indo-chinese dishes.

There is another version of szechuan sauce that is popular here in the USA which is different than today’s recipe. McDonald’s introduced the sauce first as a chicken nugget dipping sauce and it became hugely popular in the USA.

🧾 Ingredient Notes

Here is the pic of the ingredients required to make a fiery hot and spicy schezwan sauce recipe at home.

One ingredient I have skipped here is sichuan peppers. It gives a unique flavor (citrus ‘zingi-ness’) to the sauce which can’t be replaced with any other ingredient. But is not easily available in grocery stores. So to keep the recipe simple I have skipped here.

Though these sichuan peppers are available online if you want to give it a try. But without those you’re not missing much, trust me.

• Dried Red Chilies: Here I have used the combination of two different dried chilies. I have used Kashmiri chilies which are mild but gives a nice deep red color. Plus, I have used regular dried red chilies which are medium spicy.
  • TIP: To reduce the spice level, always remove the seeds and stems of the dried chilies. Seeds make the sauce super hot. Plus, elders in my family always say that seeds and stems are not good for your body, they increase the inner body heat which can create many health issues.
• Sesame Oil: Whenever I cook indo-chinese food, I prefer to use sesame oil as it gives a nice flavor to the stir-fry dishes. But instead, you can use vegetable oil.
• Amount of oil: please be generous and use a really good amount of oil. The oil should be floating on top once the sauce is ready. It acts as a preservative so you can store it for a longer period.
• Garlic: Yes, this sauce has a garlicky flavor. A good amount of minced garlic is used here.
• Brown sugar: added to balance the spicy taste. You can add more or less depending on your personal preference.

👩‍🍳 How To Make Schezwan Sauce? (Pics)

1) Break the chilies and remove the seeds. Also, snip off the stems of the chilies.

2) Take chilies in a bowl and add piping hot boiling water. Add enough water that chilies are submerged in the water. And soak for 30 minutes.

3) After soaking time, drain the water and add chilies to the blender. Plus, add fresh ¾ cup water.

4) Blend it until you get a smooth puree.

5) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add ginger, garlic, celery and onion.

6) Saute for around 2-3 minutes or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.

7) Now add prepared chili paste.

8) Also, add salt, pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar and a little more water. Mix really well.

9) Let it simmer for 5 minutes or until thickens. Also, you’ll notice the oil starts to float and ooze out.

💭 Expert Tips

Adjust the spice/heat level: To make it less spicy, use all kashmiri chilies or byadgi chilies. Or use the combination of both. To make it spicy, use the combination of kashmiri chilies and other medium-hot chilies like I have done here. But don’t you dare to use all regular medium-hot chilies, it will make super extreme spicy which you might not tolerate at all.

Make a double batch: You can double/triple the batch and freeze the smaller portions using ice cube trays or silicone molds.

Celery gives a nice herby flavor to this sauce. If you don’t have then you can skip it.

Taste the sauce: It is a good idea to taste a tiny morsel of it first and judge the taste of it. Depending on that add more or less in the recipes like fried rice, stir-fry, noodles.

🥣 Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: This stays good for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Freezer: It stays fresh for up to 3 months. I recommend storing in smaller portions (like 2-3 tablespoons) using silicone molds. Once frozen store in freezer-safe ziplock bags.

🍽 Serving Ideas For Schezwan Sauce

CAUTION: schezwan sauce will make you sweat and may numb your tongue. So use the quantity depending on your spice tolerance level. It is best to taste a tiny bit of sauce to judge how much to add.

• This is used in making many indo-chinese dishes like schezwan noodles, schezwan fried rice, schezwan potatoes or paneer, schezwan manchurians.
• This can be added to your veggie stir-fry. Just a tablespoon or two is enough to add flavor to your veggies.
• This can be used as a dipping sauce for momos, spring rolls, potato wedges, fries. It goes well with non-veg like chicken nuggets, lollipops, cutlets etc.
• You can make spicy mayo by mixing some schezwan sauce with mayonnaise. Use that as a spread for your burger or sandwiches.

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📋 Recipe Card