Mushroom and Bell Pepper Schezwan Stir Fry

Inspiration can come to you at any given time...when you're dining at your favorite restaurant and you get a whiff of the dish that's passing by. 

When you are roasting a blend of spices and the aroma of these spices hits your nose just right and you think of your next dish.

It can also happen when you open your fridge and see the ingredients laid out in front you. I'm pretty sure the last one is what inspired my mom to make I will be talking about today. 

My mom likes Indo- Chinese cuisine; some dishes that she likes are Cauliflower Manchurian, Chili Paneer, and Szechuan noodles with vegetable stir fry. There are restaurants in my hometown that specialize in this cuisine but we can't go there all the time. Whenever we like a dish, we try to re-create it at home.

She likes the idea of vegetable tempura where the vegetables are lightly battered and fried. You can still taste the vegetable inside and it's crispy. She also likes the various sauces in Chinese cuisine that are spicy and salty. However, these sauces aren't always made with vegetarian ingredients. That's when she discovered Ching's Secret products. Ching's Secret is an Indian brand of Indian Chinese cuisine with a product portfolio which includes instant noodles, instant soups, Desi Chinese masala, sauces and Schezwan chutney.

With vegetables: white button mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions...and the Ching's Secret Schezwan sauce in hand, she sprang into action to create something yummy.

Ingredients
- 8 oz white button mushrooms (large size), sliced
- 2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1" cubes
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1" cubes
- 2-1/2 to 3 Tbsp Ching's Schezwan sauce
- Approximately 1/2 cup of vegetable oil*, for frying 
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour* (add a pinch of salt to the all-purpose flour and mix it with some water to make a sauce like consistency for the batter)


Procedure

1) Toss the sliced mushroomed into the flour mixture or batter.

Heat oil in a saucepan on high to low medium flame and add the flour coated mushrooms into the oil, ensuring they lay flat in small batches.

2) Fry them for 5 minutes turning them over intermittently. When the mushrooms turn slightly brown, remove them from the oil and set aside. *Helpful hint: Let the mushrooms cool in a bowl covered with paper towel so it can absorb the excess oil.

Then, add handful of bell pepper pieces in the remaining batter and fry them too. Transfer the fried pieces into the bowl as well. 

Next, add the remaining bell pepper and onion into the oil and fry them lightly on medium to high heat. When they start to brown lightly, remove them and add them to the bowl with the other fried vegetables. 

3) Transfer the remaining oil and bring back the pan to the stove with medium heat and add all the vegetables, the Szechuan sauce and two pinches of salt. Mix well and stir fry with sauce for 3 to 4 minutes.

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4) Transfer into a serving dish and garnish with chopped scallions. This dish can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish with brown rice. 

We love re-creating dishes we tried when we go out for dinner. We can add our own little touch to them. We are so fortunate to have brands like Ching's Secret that make it easy for us to experiment with new cuisine.


*Quick Tips: 

• A low calorie and gluten free version of this recipe can be done by skipping the tempura frying with all-purpose flour. Quickly stir fry the veggies in 3 tablespoons of oil on high heat with a pinch of salt and toss them further with the Schezwan sauce.
• Not all of the oil is consumed in the final recipe

Quick and Easy Szechwan Vegetable Rice

We love trying new ways to spice up our meals and making them healthy at the same time. Sometimes, that is hard to do when you are busy working and do not have a lot of time. That is why we love products like Steam in Bag rice blend from ShopRite or Birds Eye Protein blends. These steam in a bag blends usually have rice/quinoa/brown rice with assortment of vegetables.

For our semi-homemade Szechwan Vegetable Rice dish, we used the Steam in Bag - White Rice with Vegetables from ShopRite. It's easy to use. Check out the recipe below:

Serving Size (4 to 6 people)
Ingredients:
- 2 packets of 12oz ShopRite Steam in a Bag - White Rice with Vegetables
- 1 large (or 2 medium) green bell pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp Szechwan chutney
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 slab of tofu*

Procedure:
Slice bell pepper and onion into thin slices and cut into halves. Next, steam the rice bags as per the instructions on the bag and put aside. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet, and add garlic, onion, bell pepper and tofu. Stir for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and saute the mixture under closed lid for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the bell pepper's color changes to light green (soft texture).

Then add the Szechwan chutney and remaining salt, mix well. Add the rice from the steamed bags and mix well. Allow the rice and the vegetables to cook under closed lid for 3 minutes. Then stir for another 1-2 minutes without lid.

Voila! Szechwan rice with vegetables is ready to be served.

***Quick Tip:
Tofu chunks or slices tend to fall apart when stirred. If the tofu tub is frozen for few hours and then allowed to come to room temperature, the tofu tends to become spongy in texture and absorbs the flavors and easy to use.