Homemade Spicy Schezwan Sauce(Schezwan Chutney)

Homemade Schezwan sauce (Szechuan) is a ‘super spicy’ but ‘extremely tasty’ sauce. This hot chili sauce is spicy, pungent, and mildly sweet. It’s made using loads of dried red chili peppers, garlic, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and schezwan pepper corn that offers a special tingling taste to the sauce.

The recipe was originally posted Nov 2015. Updated old photos and added video in 2019. Recipe is the same, why change a perfect recipe? 

Jump to:

• Why should you make schezwan sauce at home?
• Is schezwan sauce authentic Chinese cuisine?
• What is schezwan sauce?
• Ingredients
• Step-by-step instructions
• Useful tips
• Serving suggestions
• Storage
• Recipe FAQs
• Related Asian sauce recipes
• 📋Homemade Schezwan Sauce (Szechuan)

Why should you make schezwan sauce at home?

Like with everything else, homemade recipe is always the best.

1. You can control how spicy you want to make.
2. Make just how much you’ll need, so there’s no wastage.
3. Easy to customize, change the flavors and taste to fit your palate.
4. Great make-ahead sauce that can be stored for a month and refrigerated. Great to have it handy, stir-fries and meat marinade are as easy as a breeze.
5. Use it in stir-fried noodles, in fried rice, or as a dipping sauce. For slightly different flavor use Chinese garlic sauce.

Word of caution: This garlic chili sauce is extremely spicy, and pungent and will make you sweat and bluster. Use quantity depending on your palate and spice tolerance levels. It’s so addictive you can’t stop eating it. If you are looking for a milder, sweeter sauce try spicy sweet chili sauce.

Is schezwan sauce authentic Chinese cuisine?

Szechuan sauce is simply chili garlic sauce. In India it’s called Schezwan sauce or schezwan chutney and it’s an Indo-Chinese fusion recipe.

Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine originating in the Sichuan Province of China. It has bold, spicy flavors from the liberal use of dried red chili peppers, along with pungent flavors of schezwan peppercorns.

This fusion Indo-Chinese recipe is the most popular condiment that can be used in so many ways, as dipping sauce for dumplings (or dim sims), spring rolls or potato wedges, in stir fry noodles, stir fry rice and vegetables, as marinade for meat and so much more.

What is schezwan sauce?

It’s a fusion of Indo-Chinese garlic chili sauce. It’s extremely spicy, and sour and has a slightly sweet taste to it. It’s made using loads of dried red chili peppers, garlic, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and schezwan pepper corn that offers a special tingling taste to the sauce.

Add it to your fried rice or stir fry noodles, spoon it in over chicken stir fry, drizzle it on soups, or best use it as a dip for dumplings, spring rolls, or potato wedges.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need –

Ingredients notes

1. Dried red chili peppers – I used two varieties of dried red chili peppers. One for the heat and the other to give a bright red color. This combination gives a good balance of heat, flavor, and color. If you don’t have access to both types of dried red chilies, use whatever is available. Dried red chili peppers can be easily found in the Indian supermarket or Chinese market. If you can’t get dried red chili peppers use red chili flakes.
2. Sesame oil – adds a nutty, earthy taste. The flavor and aroma of the oil are distinct and strong, if you don’t like the strong flavor of sesame oil you can use canola oil or vegetable oil.
3. Aromats – shallots, ginger, and garlic add flavor and taste to the sauce. Use fresh ginger and fresh garlic. I do not recommend ginger powder or garlic powder.
4. White vinegar – you can use white distilled vinegar or rice vinegar. Vinegar adds a touch of tang to the sauce.
5. Soy sauce – use light soy sauce, dark soy sauce will make the sauce a dark red color.
6. Tomato ketchup – adds a bit more sauce to the sauce. For richer tomato flavor you an use tomato paste.
7. Sugar – white sugar or brown sugar can be used. Sugar adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce to balance some for he spiciness.
8. Salt – season as per taste.
9. Schezwan pepper corn – one of the main ingredients that adds a unique pungent flavor to the sauce. Don’t skip schezwan pepper corns.

Step-by-step instructions

Useful tips

1. The spiciness of this sauce depends on the variety of dried chilies that you use. Some varieties of chilies are super hot, handle them with caution.
2. Two different varieties of chili peppers are used, one has a spicy hot flavor and the other adds a bright red color. If you don’t have access to both types of dried red chilies, use what’s available. If you can’t get dried red chili peppers use red chili flakes.
3. This garlic chili sauce is extremely spicy, and pungent and will make you sweat and bluster. Use quantity depending on your palate and spice tolerance levels.
4. The sauce can be used in stir-fry recipes, can be used as a dipping sauce for dumplings, spring rolls, and potato wedges, or drizzled over soups, and salads.
5. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add water to have it in a pourable/dipping consistency.

Serving suggestions

It’s extremely spicy, and sour and has a slightly sweet taste to it.

Add it to your fried rice or stir fry noodles, spoon it in over chicken stir fry, drizzle it on soups, or best use it as a dip for dumplings, spring rolls, or potato wedges.

Storage

Allow the sauce to cool completely. Transfer to a clean, dry air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe FAQs