Szechuan Sauce - Sichuan Sauce

The amazing thing aobut nature is, it sustains itself when we get out of the way. The first few years after we started farming on this piece of land, the biggest pests we had to deal with were mice, voles,rabbits and rats. We kept traps and generally were out smarted by the creatures. The one thing we were particular about was to not use poison unless absolutley necessary. These creatures sure are destructive.

After a few years of a losing battle with the creatures I have been noticing that there are quite a few hawks here looking for prey. I see them sitting on posts watching the field. The end result mice/vole population has dramatically reduced :) So moral of the story is to let nature take it course.

Unlike artificial means of control nature takes a while to fix itself. You need plenty of patience and other means to deal with it, till such time as when nature takes over.

Now on to the recipe of the day, an IndoChinese sauce recipe that can be used for some of our favorite noodles, fried rice or stir fired chicken or shrimp recipes. The funny thing is this Indian version of the Szechuan/Sichuan sauce does not use Szechuan peppers, which works perfectly for me. I am not very fond of the taste it leaves on the tongue. This recipe does not use Szechuan peppers. Based off the recipe I saw on Chef Dheena's Kitchen.

I had some home grown red chilies dried up over the summer just to be used in this recipe :) I also have tomato sauce saved from summer and in the middle of winter, its taste is immeasurable.

Recipe in pictures,

Soak the red chillies in a bowl of water for an hour and then cook it till it becomes soft.
Transfer to a blender and blend it. Get the rest of the ingredients ready.
In a wide mouthed pan heat oil and add the onions, garlic,ginger and green chilies.
Once the onions are starting to turn brown, add the tomato sauce, let it cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the vinegar and soy sauce followed by salt. Let it cook till the sauce thickens.

Szechuan Sauce - Sichuan Sauce
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 10 -15 Red Chilies
2. 1 cup of finely chopped red onions
3. 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
4. 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
5. 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
6. 1/2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce
7. 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
8. 1 cup of tomato sauce (homemade)
9. 2 tbsp oil - I used peanut oil
10. salt to taste

Method

1. Soak the red chilies for about 1 hour and then cook them in the soaked liquid for about 8-10 minutes till the chilies become soft.
2. Let it cool and transfer to a blender and blend. if the seeds are still whole let it be.
3. In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil and when hot add the onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies and let it cook till the onions start to brown.
4. Now add the tomato sauce and boil for about 5-6 minuted till the tomato mixture comes to a boil.
5. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and salt and cook till the oil separates.
6. Cool and transfer to a sterilized jar for use. With the oil and the vinegar the sauce should be fine even without refrigeration for about a month if it lasts that long.

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