SCHEZWAN TOFU FRIED RICE
I am starting a new School Lunch Series for my blog, where I will showcase school lunches that are popular with my kids, and that they enjoy taking to school. The first recipe I will be sharing is Schezwan Tofu Fried Rice. This dish is vegan(if you do not add the egg), healthy, nutritious and filling, and makes for a very tasty lunch!
Schezwan Paneer Fried Rice was a popular dish that I grew up eating in Mumbai. A dish that I loved and still love to date.
Indo-Chinese cuisine originated in India towards the end of the 19th century, going into the 20th century, when Chinese Hakka immigrants immigrated to India, namely the city of Kolkata, in the eastern part of India, for work.
It was the amalgamation of Chinese ingredients like soya sauce, and rice vinegar, with Indian aromatics like ginger, garlic and green chillies that created this cuisine, popularly known as Indo-Chinese cuisine, that is beloved all over India for years now.
Schezwan sauce, typically an Indo-Chinese concoction, made typically with dried red chile peppers, schezwan peppers, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, a bit of sugar, soya sauce and rice vinegar, is a common ingredient in Indo-Chinese cuisine.
Growing up, we would love the Schezwan dishes in the Indo-Chinese restaurants, because they were spicy, tasty and hit the right notes on the palate. When my mother wanted to prepare Indo-Chinese cuisine at home, she would typically get the Schezwan sauce from a nearby restaurant that served the sauces, to-go.
In the United States, in 2022, we are lucky that we have access to these ingredients in the Indian grocery stores. I get the Schezwan sauce from the Indian grocery store to prepare this Schezwan Tofu Fried Rice that my kids are so fond of. The Schezwan sauce is linked here as well. The Schezwan sauce can be made at home, but this is of utmost convenience when you have limited time to make meals for your family.
I use extra firm tofu from the brand House Foods Organic Tofu, that is readily available in any grocery store. The extra firm tofu holds its shape well and stays well in the lunch box too.
My kids LOVE taking this fried rice to school. My son loves a boiled egg with his fried rice that is generously covered with salt and black pepper. This fried rice has been on repeat for a few weeks now.
I cook rice a day in advance, and keep it in the fridge to take out all the moisture from the rice. I use basmati rice, or long grained rice for making this dish, as it gives the best results. Once you prepare the day-old rice, the dish comes together within 30 minutes. I pack their lunches the day before, making it super easy for us in the morning to simply pack it in their lunch bags. They warm it up at school in the microwave and it makes for a healthy and fulfilling lunch.
The main ingredients of the sauce that I prepare are:
- Soy sauce, I use the low sodium tamari sauce because that is what I like. It is just the right amount of saltiness.
- Rice vinegar, I use Mirin from the grocery store.
- Sesame oil
- Schezwan sauce or chutney that I get from the Indian grocery store.
You can scramble an egg in the fried rice, and add peanuts as well. I vary depending upon the mood of the kids.
I hope you like this recipe and if you do try it, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram, and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
I will post a lunch recipe every week, so I hope you enjoy this series!
XO
Amisha
Schezwan Tofu Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, cook the previous day and put it in the fridge
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp finely minced ginger
- For the sauce:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 - 3 tbsp schezwan sauce
- For the Tofu:
- 7 oz extra firm tofu, cut into 1 ½ cm chunks
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- For the fried rice:
- 3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ cup green peas
- ⅓ cup finely diced carrots
- ¼ cup green beans, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup peanuts (optional)
- Garnish:
- ⅓ cup finely diced spring onions
- Boiled eggs (optional)
Instructions
- For the sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients, mix and set it aside.
- For the Tofu:
- In a medium shallow plate or bowl, add the cornstarch, salt and pepper, and whisk to combine.
- Add the tofu pieces and cover with the cornstarch mixture. Set aside
- In a wok, on medium to high heat, add the vegetable oil. After 2 to 3 minutes, once the oil has heated, add the tofu, lay them flat and cook the tofu on each side for about 3 to 4 minutes or until nicely light brown in color. You will cook for a total of about 12 minutes until all sides are browned. Remove on a plate and set aside.
- For the fried rice:
- In the same wok, at medium to high heat, add the vegetable oil. After 2 to 3 minutes, once the oil is heated, add the minced ginger and garlic, and saute with a wooden spoon for about 15-20 seconds.
- Next add the green peas, carrots and green beans(optional), saute’ for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the sauce and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the tofu and saute for another 30 seconds to a minute.
- Next add the day-old rice into the pan and mix well, until all the rice is nicely coated with the sauce.
- Let the fried rice sit in the wok for a minute or 1 ½ minutes so that the bottom gets slightly charred.
- Stir again and repeat step 6.
- Make a center in the wok, such that the rice moves to the side of the wok.
- Beat the egg in a bowl, and pour it into the center. Saute to scramble the egg. Once scrambled, mix it with the fried rice to evenly distribute.
- Add the spring onions as garnish and mix again.
- At this stage you can add peanuts if you wish to, or leave it as is. The fried rice is done!
- Serve it with a boiled egg, or pack it in the lunch boxes for your kids, for the next day. There is extra for the family too, or leftovers make great after school snacks as well!
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