Chicken Manchurian (2 Ways)

Chicken manchurian is famous indo chinese dish of chicken tossed in a savory, spicy & tangy manchurian sauce. You can make a dry version of chicken manchurian or make it saucy, depending on how you like.

In this post, I am also sharing 2 ways in which you can make chicken manchurian. First version is ground chicken meatballs and another method is to add deep fried chicken pieces to the manchurian sauce- sauce recipe is same for both versions.

Indo chinese dishes are love! Indo chinese cuisine is a fusion cuisine creatively put together by chinese settlers who lived in eastern parts of India for centuries. During that time, they combined locally available indian spices & ingredients with chinese cooking techniques (like stir frying).

While researching for this article, I came across a fascinating history of manchurian dishes on wikipedia. Popular manchurian dishes such as manchurian noodles, vegetable manchurian or gobi manchurian are a creation of chinese restaurants in India and they have no association with flavors of Manchu cuisine or northeastern chinese cuisine.

What is Chicken Manchurian

Chicken Manchurian is a street-style Indo-Chinese dish characterized by crispy, golden fried pieces of boneless chicken tossed in a tangy spicy sauce. Sold on streets as well as appearing on restaurant menus, it is a bold & delicious chicken dish that is served for main course with fried rice or chowmein (noodles). Make this manchurian recipe dryish, and its makes for an excellent chicken appetizer with drinks! 

There are two versions of chicken manchurian that I make- one with ground chicken meat balls and another with deep fried chicken cubes added to sauce. Both versions are equally good differing only in texture of chicken.

The manchurian sauce has a savory, sour, slightly spicy taste with a hint of sweetness. Manchurian sauce is not supposed to be sweet but has a slightly sticky texture (glaze like). The sauce is cooked with ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, garlic, green chilies, and readily available indo chinese condiments (I am discussing these later in the post).

Chicken Manchurian Ingredients

For Chicken

1. For Chicken balls - Ground Chicken, Egg (for binding and keeping the meatballs moist), garlic, ginger, black pepper, cilantro stems, soy sauce, cornstarch (helps in binding), red chilli flakes (or use hot variety minced green chilies). You could use a mix of ground chicken breast and regular ground chicken.
2. For Deep Fried Chicken - Boneless Chicken Thighs (cut into bite size pieces). Chicken thighs are super flavorful and remain moist after deep frying. I avoid using chicken breast but you could try. We also need egg, soy sauce, cornstrach, garlic paste, salt and black pepper powder.

For Manchurian Sauce

• Onion - I like using red onions. You can use yellow onions too.
• Green Chilies - I use indian green chilies that are really hot. Substitue with thai bird chillies or chopped serrano peppers(the flavor of sauce with serranos is slightly different).
• Ginger & Garlic - finely chopped. We want all the vegetables for the sauce to be chopped and not minced or ground. We want texture!
• Cilantro Stems - Add a ton of flavor. However be mindful of quantity since too much can make the sauce bitter.
• Tomato Ketchup - Lot of indo chinese recipes use tomato ketchup to add subtle sweetness, however keep in mind not to overuse since you dont want the machurian sauce to taste of tomatoes. You could use canned tomato sauce if you don't want to use ketchup.
• Indo Chinese Sauces - Read my notes in the next section.
• Chicken Stock - I always have chicken stock at hand and I use it to adjust the consistency of sauce. Water works just as fine if you don't have stock.
• Other Ingredients - salt, black pepper powder, honey(or brown sugar) & corn flour / corn starch (to thicken the sauce)

Indo Chinese Condiments

Indo chinese tastes best when you use condiments from Indian brands made specifically for these dishes. If you have an Indian store near by, do pay a visit and try to stock up. They are available on amazon too. Most indian grocery stores stock indo chinese sauces & condiments by the brand Chings (not sponsored).

If you follow my recipes, I use these sauces often in my indo chinese cooking. If you love to cook indo chinese often, below is a short list of condiments to equip you to make some delicious indo chinese food at home at any time.

• Chings Dark Soy Sauce (non-affiliate) - It's thick and dark and has a strong aroma, its deeper than your all purpose soy sauce. This robust sauce can stand cooking and is full of umami.
• Chings Green Chili Sauce (non-affiliate)- This is hot. Think of it as green sriracha. It's basically green chillies ground with vinegar and it lends a grassy heat to the recipes. Substitute - Increase the quantity of green chillies.
• Chings Red Chili Sauce (non-affiliate) - This is red chilies ground with vinegar and it lends a smoky rounded heat to your sauce base. Substitute - Sriracha
• Ching's Vinegar or Ching's Chili Vinegar (non-affiliate) - You choose! Spicy Vinegar! The latter has chilli notes along with tangy. Substitute - Rice Vinegar

Instructions

For Chicken Meatballs (Option 1)

• Mix all the listed ingredients except oil in a large bowl. Gently mix everything together using spatula first and then if needed with hands without squishing a lot. Let the mix rest for 10-15 minutes. If you feel its too sticky (depends on water content of your chicken mince, add another tablespoon of cornstarch). Oil your palms and make lime sized balls with the mixture.You should get about 12-15. Cook using one of the methods below.
• If you are baking:- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large sheet with parchment paper. Place the chicken meatballs in a single layer and spray or brush linberally with oil. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cooked fully.
• If you are deep frying - Heat up 3 inch oil in a frying pan. Fry chicken meatballs a few at a time until golden and crispy on medium heat. Pick using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Set the cooked chicken meatballs aside. 

For Deep Fried Chicken Pieces (Option 2)

• Using a sharp knife, cut boneless chicken thigs into 1.5 inch pieces.
• Add soy sauce, egg, garlic paste, ginger, salt & pepper to a large bowl. Whisk together until smooth. Add the chicken and toss to coat well. Let stand for 15 minutes. You can do the chopping for manchurian sauce in the mean time.

• Heat up 3 inch oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle cornstarch over the chicken and mix. Drop the chicken pieces in hot oil and deep fry until cripsy golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and let deep-fried chicken stand while you make the salt.

Tip - You could air fry both the chicken meatballs and chicken pieces if you dont want to deep fry.

Make The Chicken Manchurian Sauce

• Chop the onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems,  spring onions (white and green part seperate) before you start cooking the sauce.
• In a small bowl, prepare the cornstarch slurry by blending cold water with cornstarch and set aside.
• In a wok, heat up oil on high. Add onion, garlic, ginger, green chili, cilantro stems and spring onion white parts all at once. Stir-fry on high heat for approximately 1 to 1.5 minutes until the vegetables become slightly tender without browning. They should maintain their crunch and color.

• Introduce all the sauces next - dark soy sauce, red chilli sauce, green chilli sauce, ketchup, red chili sauce, black pepper, and salt. Sauté for 20-25 seconds or until slightly bubbly.

• Now add the chicken stock(or water). Bring to a slow boil. Pour the cornstarch slurry. Cook for around 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.

• Add the honey & vinegar, mix, taste and adjust the salt in the sauce
• Switch off the stove. Add the cooked chicken meatballs or crispy chicken (whichever you are using) along with scallion green parts and chopped coriander leaves. Toss well to coat the chicken. Serve rightaway with fried rice or hakka noodles.

Recipe Tips

• My Top Tip - Chop all the vegetables and measure ingredients before you begin cooking. This tip applies to any kind of indo chinese dish that you make. Keep in mind that chinese food is all about texture. Once you start stir frying, if you pause to chop the vegetables or fetch ingredients, the contents of wok will over cook.
• If possible, use a chinese wok. The construction & material of wok really helps preserve the texture of the sauce and chicken.
• Chicken Manchurian tastes best when its made and served right away. You can do the chopping and measuring ahead but don't make the manchurian ahead of time. Deep fry the chicken and make manchurian sauce only at the time you want to serve.
• Try to finish the quanity that you make in one go. Chicken manchurian does not store, reheat or freeze well.
• Don't use flavored oils like olive oil or coconut oil for making the sauce. Neutral oils are best for the sauce. 
• Use any medium diced vegetables like green bell pepper, broccoli, mushroom, baby corn etc in this recipe. Add them after the onions ginger & garlic have finished frying.