CHICKEN MANCHURIAN RECIPE, EASY DELICIOUS

 Chicken Manchurian is one of the easiest Indo-Chinese chicken recipes. It is very famous in Pakistan too. This recipe provides restaurant-style Manchurian chicken with fewer ingredients and fewer calories.

Did you know Chicken Manchurian is not Chinese in origin? It was first introduced in Calcutta, a city of India, by Nelson Wang. The Chinese-style batter-fried chicken dunked in sweet and sour gravy was wedded with Indian spices, an extra burst of garlic, and soy sauce. Soon the dish was famous all over the city and similarly, many other pseudo-Indo-Chinese recipes were created to meet the Indian taste buds with fancy names. A vegetarian version of this dish called cauliflower or Gobi Manchurian is very famous.

TASTE OF CHICKEN MANCHURIAN

You can't go wrong with this recipe. It’s so simple, you need the batter-fried chicken to get soaked in sweet and sour Manchurian gravy. The taste is mildly hot with extra heat from chilies and a rich burst of garlic and soy sauce.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS?

The chicken is Manchurian sauce is never crispy. It is soft, velvety, and juicy. To attain this we use velveting, a technique in Chinese cuisine secret. We thinly coat chicken in flour batter and fry it. This locks the juices in the chicken making it very tasty.

While some recipes call for deep frying. I've found stir fry provides an equally delicious taste with fewer calories. So this is also a healthy recipe if homemade ketchup is used. I like this non-stick wok best for stir-frying.

I've found lightly battered chicken works best, as thicker coating gets soaked in sauce and becomes soggy and too heavy to be enjoyed. So stick to just 4 tablespoons of flour in the recipe or less. Remember, we are coating chicken for velveting and not for crusting.

Most Manchurian recipes call for ketchup and rely on sugar and vinegar for more flavor. I found using extra ketchup substitutes some of the ingredients and give the same restaurant-style taste with bright red color.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN MANCHURIAN?

There are many versions of this recipe. Here’s is my simple but delicious version.

STEPS FOR CHICKEN

1. Put all the ingredients to marinate the chicken in a bowl except oil and mix well.
2. Set aside and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Now, heat just 2 tablespoons of oil in a non- stick pan and stir fry half of the marinated chicken on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the color turns white and the chicken is cooked.
4. Remove the chicken to a plate. Now add another 2 tablespoons of old and stir fry the remaining chicken similarly. Set aside until gravy is ready.

STEPS FOR MANCHURIAN SAUCE

This simple Manchurian sauce is made of ketchup, red chili, garlic, soy sauce, capsicum, and cornflour slurry.

1. While chicken marinates, prepare the Manchurian gravy. In a pot or wok, heat oil and add garlic and dried red button chili. ( you can use any other dry red chili too.
2. Add Ketchup, chili garlic sauce, capsicum, chicken stock cube, and soy sauce. You may use less or more soy sauce depending upon its potency.
3. Add water and mix well.
4. Mix cornflour and water in a bowl to make a slurry and add to the Manchurian sauce to thicken the gravy. Keep cooking on low heat and stir constantly to avoid lumps until gravy is thickened.
5. Add chicken munch to the gravy.
6. Now Manchurian is moderate to the very spicy gravy. So I recommend adding black pepper first then doing a taste test and adding red chili powder as needed to match your heat preference.
7. Garnish with green onions and serve Chicken Manchurian with plain or fried rice.

STEPS FOR MANCHURIAN SIZZLER:

To make a Manchurian sizzler add extra ½ cup water in gravy and heat through. Heat the hot plate on the stove for 15-20 minutes until thoroughly heated. Add about 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the hot plate and spread all over then add half of the Manchurian gravy and serve the sizzling plate immediately. Check this sizzler plate here.

Hungry for more? Check these!

• Gobi Manchurian