Schezwan rice

Schezwan rice - Shamala Bhat

Recipe :

• 1.5 cups basmati rice or long grained rice
• 6 cups water
• ½ tsp salt
• 2-3 drops of oil
• for making schezwan rice:
• 2 or 2.5 cups finally chopped vegetables ( i used 1 medium carrot, 8 french beans, ¼ cup finally chopped cabbage, 1 small capsicum/green bell pepper)
• 1 or 2 spring onions/scallions finely chopped, reserve the greens for garnishing
• 1 tsp finely chopped celery (optional), skip if you do not have.
• 2-3 garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp schezwan sauce or as required -
• ¼ tsp black pepper or as required
• ½ tsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar or regular vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil or any vegetable oil
• salt as required

Method

• rinse rice very well till the water runs clear of starch. soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes.
• drain and keep aside.
• in a pot, bring to a gentle boil 6 cups of water with salt and 2 to 3 drops of oil.
• add the soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
• on a low to medium flame cook the rice without the lid.
• when the rice becomes al dente or just cooked, remove the pot from fire and strain the rice.
• gently rinse the rice in water so that they stop cooking and don't stick to each other.
• cover the rice and keep aside.
• preparing schezwan fried rice:
• finely chop all the vegetables. you can even shred the vegetables in a food processor.
• heat oil in a wok. add garlic and saute for a 15 to 20 seconds.
• add the onions, celery and all the vegetables.
• increase the flame and stir fry the vegetables on a high heat.
• more finely the vegetables are chopped, more faster they will cook.
• keep on stirring and tossing the vegetables on a high heat continuously. so that they are equally browned and cooked.
• when the edges of the veggies starts to become light brown, add schezwan sauce.
• stir and then add the drained rice in parts.
• mix and toss the rice with the veggies gently.
• season with salt, pepper and vinegar. stir and toss well so that the sauce coats all the rice grains evenly.
• garnish the schezwan fried rice with the spring onions greens.
• serve schezwan fried rice plain or with a side indo chinese dish like veg manchurian, mushroom manchurian or any dish of your choice.