Deliciously exotic with a bold bite…
You may think Schezwan noodles or fried rice when you think Schezwan sauce…and you’d be right. This recipe fits the bill for adding deliciously bold fire to those authentic Asian meals. Though, like many fiery sauces, they stand on their own as a dipping sauce as well. Schezwan sauce can bring an exotic bold bite to everything from French fries to steamed veggies.
Kashmiri chilies bring a relatively mild “fire” to this recipe. So if you’re ready to really fire things up, try mixing in a few Tien Tsin peppers. These Chinese chilies are well loved for authentic Schezwan cooking, and their extra-hot spiciness runs circles around the comparatively tame Kashmiri. Substitute in two to three on your first go and adjust from there to get to the heat level you prefer.
Fiery Schezwan Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 12 dried Kashmiri peppers or Byadagi peppers, sliced open and seeds removed
- 1/2 bunch spring onion leaves minced
- 1/4 cup garlic minced
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 3 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the Kashmiri peppers (seeds removed) in a bowl of water for 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Remove them from the water and using a mortar and pestle, crush the chilies into a paste.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat 1/2 of the sesame oil, then sauté the ginger and garlic until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 minute).
- Lower the heat to low and add the Kashmiri paste. Simmer the chilies, ginger, and garlic for 1 minute, stirring often.
- Add the remaining sesame oil and the tomatoes. Continue to simmer, stirring often, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the black pepper, salt, soy sauce, and spring onion leaves. Turn the heat up to medium and continue to cook, stirring often, until integrated and the sauce slightly thickens.
- Add the lemon juice, stirring often, for one additional minute, then remove the sauce from the heat.
- Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature - the sauce will thicken more in the process. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.