Crispy Gobi Manchurian (Dry)
Crispy cauliflower (gobi) florets battered, deep fried and then coated in a spicy, tangy and mildly sweet manchurian sauce. Perfect indo chinese appetizer for your next party!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Manchurian Sauce
- 1-1.5 tablespoon dark soy sauce (see note #1)
- 1.5 tablespoon red chili sauce (hot) I use Ching's, use chilli garlic sauce instead, adjust quantity to taste
- 1 tablespoon green chilli sauce (hot) I use Ching's, use green sriracha instead, adjust quantity to taste
- 1.5 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ -1 teaspoon salt the ready to use sauces that we are adding are quite salty so add accordingly
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch make a slurry with 2 tablespoon water
- 2-3 tablespoon oil I use avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 4 scallions (green onions) white and green parts finely chopped separately
- 3-5 indian green chilies (hot!) finely chopped, adjust quantity to taste
- 1 tablespoon cilantro stems finely chopped
- ⅓ cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar (see note #2)
- ¼-1/3 cup water
- ½-1 teaspoon rice vinegar adjust to taste, the ready to use sauces that we are adding are quite tangy so you might need at all, I use only ½ teaspoon
For the Gobi Fritters
- 600 g cauliflower florets cut in small size. Make sure the florets are fully dry else batter would slip off.
- ½ cup (80g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup corn starch (cornflour)
- 1.5 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or use paprika powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon water or as required to make the batter, add gradually
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Make the Manchurian Sauce
- In a bowl, mix up the ketchup, red chili sauce(or sriracha), green chilli sauce(or green sriracha), dark soy sauce, tomato ketchup,and salt +pepper. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix cornstarch & water thoroughly to make a slurry. Set nearby.
- Place a wok or a wide pan (I use 10 inch ) on stove and let heat up on high. Most part of the cooking will be done on high heat.
- Pour oil into the wok and let it get slightly smoky. Add chopped garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, green chilies, onion, green onion/ scallion white parts all at once. Cook for 1 -2 minute or till you smell a nice aroma and the veggies start looking lightly charred.
- Add in the sauce mixture that we made earlier. Combine with aromatics and fry for 1-2 minutes or untill you start seeing bubbles. This indicates that the sugars are caramelizing, which means great flavors are developing.
- Next, pour about ¼ cup of hot water (or stock) to the wok. When the water starts slowly boiling, while stirring the contents of wok with one hand, pour in the cornstarch slurry that we made.
- After adding corn starch, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for about 1-3 minutes untill the sauce thickens. Don't thicken too much because as the manchurian gravy cools down while we deep fry the caulifower,it is naturally going to thicken more.
- Switch off the stove, do a taste test & adjust the salt quantity if needed. Mix in the honey and vinegar and leave to cool down. Proceed to frying the gobi.
DEEP FRY THE GOBI (CAULIFLOWER)
- In a bowl, mix together all purpose flour, corn starch or corn flour(in india), salt, black pepper, garlic and kashmiri red chili powder. Slowly, pour water to make a smooth, lump-free medium consistency batter. It should feel thickish and resist while mixing. This consistency batter won't run off the florets.
- Meanwhile, place a wok or any deep pot on the stove to heat up. I fry them in my wok.
- Pour enough oil into the wok so that you have about 2 to 2.5 inches deep. This depth is crucial for evenly frying the cauliflower, ensuring each floret gets submerged in oil and turns out crispy and golden brown all around.
- You need hot oil(but not very hot) for deep frying. To check the temperature manually, drop a few drops of batter in the hot oil and it should quickly float to top without changing color. Another way is to dip natural wood chopsticks in oil, the oil around chopstick tips should sizzle. On a thermometer, the temperature should read about 340F.Note - We are not boiling or blanching the cauliflower before frying. Do not fry the florets on very high heat else they will be raw from inside.
- Once oil is hot, reduce heat to high-medium. Carefully, place the battered caulifower florets in hot oil. Don't overcrowd the oil.
- For the first 2 -3 minutes, don't touch the florets else they will start sticking to the wok. They will release on their own when the bottomed are crisped up.
- Turn around the florets and let fry to get golden crispy on all sides. You will need to keep a watchful eye. Using a slotted spoon, pick up the crispy caufilower florets and drain on a paper towel.
- Repeat the process for the other half of caufiflower florets and deep fry. Some people like to double fry/flash fry the cauliflower florets again but I don't.Note - Deep fry cauliflower in batches. You might need to fry in 3 or 4 batches depending on size of your cooking pan.
- To the cooled manchurian sauce, add the fried cauliflower, chopped green onions and cilantro. Using a spatula, very gently toss well so that the florets are evenly coated in sauce. Don't stir too much else cauliflower will start breaking. Garnish with more chopped green scallions & cilantro. Serve immediately.
Notes
Note #1 - Dark soy sauce is quite think and rich in color. You could reduce the quantity to 1 tablespoon for a "brighter" colored gobi manchrian or use all purpose soy sauce that is bit lighter instead (remember the different soy sauce varieties do not differ in saltiness, just viscosity).
Note #2 - If you enjoy a "sweetish" gobi manchurian, use extra honey or sugar to taste.