Chicken Manchurian a Indo-Chinese Recipe

If you grew up in America with Chinese take-out than Chicken Manchurian may sound alien just as Orange Chicken is to an Indian. Do note MSG is not banned in India so eating Chinese food in India may contain MSG. My recipe uses bouillon or Maggie cube instead.

The popular Chinese dishes in India are Chicken or Gobi(cauliflower) Manchurian, Fried Rice , Hakka Noodles made with egg noodles, Chilli Chicken and Hot & Sour soup. Dishes like Orange Chicken, Lo Mein and Beef & Broccoli are unheard of.

Chicken Manchurian is a 3 step process. First is marination of the meat, then frying and finally sauteing it in the sauce. You can make it as an appetizer or as an entrée. It can also be made dry or with gravy. I use a very light coat of batter for my chicken. If you are a vegetarian or vegan then this recipe will work for you just replace the chicken with cauliflower florets or cubed pressed firm tofu. I also do not use egg in my batter. There are many variations to this recipe so if my recipe does not match up to what you know than please make the adjustment.

Serving size: 4-6

Ingredients:

For Marination:

2 lbs of chicken breast cut in 1″ pieces

2 tbsp of soy sauce

1/2 diced jalapeno (keep the remaining half for the sauce)

2 tbsp of fine chopped garlic

1 tbsp of fine chopped ginger

Directions:

Mix the above all ingredients and let it marinate for 30 minutes.

For Batter:

6 tbsp of corn starch

6 tbsp of white flour

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of water

salt to season

oil heated for deep-frying

Directions:

Mix the above first 4 ingredients to form a thicker batter. To this mix the marinated chicken/cauliflower florets/pressed firm tofu pieces mix well so each piece is coated with the batter.

Deep fry till light golden brown.

Drain on paper towel.

Manchurian Sauce Ingredients:

1 medium onion cut into 1.5 inches

1 bell pepper chopped into 1.5 inches

2 tbsp of chopped garlic

1 tbsp of ginger

1/2 diced jalapeno

2 tbsp of soya sauce

2 tbsp of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp of vinegar

2 tbsp of corn starch

vegetable or chicken bouillon for seasoning

2 cups of water.

Directions:

Heat oil in a saute pan. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and saute till transparent should be crunchy and not soft.

Next add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno saute for 45 seconds. Add the soy, ketchup, vinegar and water. Stir and bring it to a simmer.

Mix corn starch with little water add this to the sauce and stir till it thicken. Season it with 1/2 a bouillon or according to your taste.

Finally add the fried chicken/cauliflower/tofu to the sauce. Mix it so all the pieces are well coated with the sauce.

Serve nice and hot with rice, noodles or zoodles.  You can check out more recipes with Corn Starch here.