Description
Savor the bold flavors of Chicken Manchurian, a popular Indo-Chinese dish that blends tender marinated chicken with a savory, slightly spicy sauce. Perfect for a delicious dinner or impressive party dish!
Ingredients
Scale
Marinating the Chicken:
- 1 ½ lbs boneless chicken (Preferably dark meat)
- 1/2 sweet red bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons garlic-ginger-onion mix (reserved from marinade)
- 1/2 small onion (approx. 3–4 tablespoons)
- 3–4 slices ginger (approx. 1½ – 2 tablespoons)
- 3 cloves garlic (approx. 1½ tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon chilli powder (*See Note 1)
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 3–4 tablespoons water
- 10 tablespoons cornstarch (mix this in with the chicken after you are done marinating, right before deep frying)
Preparing the Chicken Manchurian Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce (See Note 3 for substitution)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 1 ½ teaspoons chilli powder (See Note 1)
- 1–2 bird’s eye chili pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons cold water
Instructions
- Marinating the Chicken – With a food processor, blitz the ginger, garlic, and half a small onion until it is a fine paste. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this for browning the onions and red peppers later.
- Cut up the chicken into small bite-sized 1 inch pieces and marinate it in a bowl with the ginger-garlic-onion paste, soy sauce, chilli powder, black pepper, and water. (Do not add the corn starch yet. We will add that right before we deep fry the chicken.) Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight.
- Preparation – Finely dice the red peppers and set them aside with the reserved ginger-garlic-onion mix. If you are garnishing with cilantro, finely chop some and set it aside for the end.
- Preparing the Chicken Manchurian Sauce – Finely chop the bird eye chilis (keep the seeds) and add them to a small bowl. Mix tomato paste, oyster sauce, sugar, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chilli powder together and mix well until it is combined. Add water into the sauce and mix everything until it’s combined well. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with cold water, then add it to the sauce and stir to combine. Set the sauce aside for later.
- Deep Frying the Chicken – Add in cornstarch to the chicken and mix until well combined. In a wok, frying pan, or deep fryer heat the oil to 350F (177C). When the oil is hot, add the chicken into the oil one at a time. Fry it in small batches being careful not to overcrowd the oil, which can drop the oil temperature, which will make the chicken soggy. Fry the chicken for about 5-6 minutes and set them aside on a plate with a paper towel or newspaper to absorb some of the oil. Once all the chicken has finished deep-frying, add them all back into the deep fryer at the same time and fry it for 30 seconds. This will re-heat the chicken and the double frying will make the chicken crispier.
- Putting It Together – In a wok or frying pan, set the stove to medium to medium-high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, add in the ginger-garlic-onion mix that was reserved from preparation and cook it until it is toasty and brown. Approximately 2 minutes. Careful not to burn it. Add in the finely diced red peppers and cook them for 2 minutes. Give the sauce a quick stir (the corn starch likes to settle at the bottom) and add it to the wok. Keep stirring the sauce until it thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat on the stove and add the deep-fried chicken into the pan and mix it together with the sauce until the chicken is well coated. If you are using cilantro as a garnish, toss it in now. Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
Notes
- 1. Adjust the amount of chili powder based on your spice preference.
- 2. For a spicier kick, increase the amount of bird’s eye chili peppers.
- 3. Substitute dark soy sauce with regular soy sauce and a touch of molasses for a similar flavor profile.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Frying, Stir-Frying
- Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 810mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 80mg
Keywords: Chicken Manchurian, Indo-Chinese, Chicken Recipe, Stir-Fry, Asian Cuisine
