Easy Chinese Chicken Manchurian Recipe
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 500 g Boneless 2 Chicken Breasts, Cut in Small Cubes
- ½ tbsp Garlic Paste
- ½ tsp White Pepper Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Red Chili Flakes
- ½ tbsp Soya Sauce
- 1 Egg Whisked
- 4 tbsp Corn flour
- Oil for Frying
For Manchurian sauce / gravy:
- 2 tbsp Oil Use The Same Oil as Was Used for Frying
- ½ tbsp Freshly Minced Garlic
- 4 Dried Whole red Chilies
- 1 Onion Cut into Cubes
- ½ Green Capsicum / Green Bell Pepper Cut into Cubes
- 2 tbsp Soya Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vinegar
- ½ cup Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Chili Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Stock
- ½ tsp Red Chili Flakes
- ¼ tsp White Pepper Powder
- Salt to Taste
- 2 tbsp Corn flour
- 2 Spring Onions Thinly Sliced (for Garnish)
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a bowl, and add garlic paste, salt, white pepper powder, red chilli flakes and soy sauce. Add the egg and mix well.
- Add the cornflour till a thick batter consistency is reached. The recipe states 4 tablespoons of cornflour / cornstarch, but you can add more or less to reach the right consistency.
- Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil for frying in a wok or shallow frying pan.
- Add the chicken in batches, and fry till golden brown and crispy. Keep the heat low – medium so that the chicken can cook through from the inside but doesn’t burn from the outside.
- Set aside the fried chicken.
- The chicken can also be shallow fried, baked in an oven, or made in an air fryer.
For the Manchurian sauce / gravy:
- Place the tomato ketchup / tomato sauce, sriracha, soya sauce and vinegar in a small jug or bowl. Stir and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large wok / medium sized pot (or Dutch oven). The same pan can be used that was used for frying the chicken, just remove the oil and leave only 2 tablespoons in the pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add the freshly minced garlic and whole red chilies. Saute for a minute, and then add the cubed onions and capsicum.
- Sauté for around 2 minutes, and then add the tomato sauce mixture that was kept aside.
- Add the chicken stock, along with the red chili flakes, white pepper powder and salt. Add only a little salt as the other ingredients are already quite salty.
- Let the mixture come to a boil, and then turn heat to simmer.
- Add the cornflour slurry and cook for 2 – 3 minutes till the gravy thickens and turns glossy.
- Add the fried chicken to the gravy and mix through. Cook for a few minutes till the chicken is heated through. The gravy will thicken a little more due to the fried chicken batter. If you want, you can add more chicken stock at this stage, and adjust seasonings.
- Once the chicken is heated through, turn off the heat. Garnish the chicken Manchurian with sliced spring onions and serve hot with fried rice.
Notes:
- Marinate Chicken for at least 30 minutes.