Schezwan fried rice
The fiery Indo-Chinese street favorite: basmati rice tossed with crunchy cabbage, carrot and pepper in a garlicky red chili sauce.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.16 a serving
- 390 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups basmati rice, cooked and chilled, about 4½ cups (leftover rice is perfect)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 4 stalks green onions, sliced, whites and greens kept apart
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 390 calories, 7 g protein, 65 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No green cabbage? Red cabbage or coleslaw mix works.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Break up the cold rice with your fingers. the garlic, the ginger, the green onions (whites and greens apart), the carrot and pepper, and finely shred the cabbage.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Stir the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sugar together in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a large over high heat until it . Add the garlic, ginger and green onion whites and stir 30 seconds, .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
High heat
Add the carrot and 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and pepper and stir-fry 2 minutes more, until .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
High heatTimer: 4 min
Add the rice, spread it out, and let it sit 1 minute. 3 minutes, until steaming hot.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
High heatTimer: 4 min
Dolly’s tip: Use rice that went into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Rice left out overnight isn’t safe, even once it’s fried.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Pour the sauce over, add the black pepper and 2 minutes, until every grain is red and coated.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
High heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Taste a few grains. For more heat, stir in another spoonful of chili garlic sauce.in the green onion tops and serve.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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