This tasty Chicken Manchurian is an amazing combination of crispy fried chicken and tangy, spicy, slightly sweet sauce that is an ideal appetizer for any night! This dish perfectly embodies the fusion of Chinese and Indian cuisines. Serve it as a side dish a snack, or just enjoy it as a meal that everyone will love!
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Instructions
Chicken Marinade
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the chicken with marinade ingredients, including 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon portion of ginger garlic paste, ⅛ teaspoon of chili powder or paprika (optional, for red color), ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 egg white, the first 2 teaspoon portion of cornstarch, and 1 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Mix until the chicken is well-coated.
Set the chicken aside and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Longer is better.
Frying the Marinated Chicken
Heat your oil in a deep skillet, frying pan, wok, or Dutch Oven to 375℉ (190℃) over medium to medium-high heat. When frying chunked chicken, you only need about 3 tablespoons of oil, meatballs require at least a ½-inch depth of cooking oil to fry. *You need enough oil to come up at least halfway onto your chicken meatballs.
Deep fry the chicken pieces or formed meatballs until golden in appearance and crisped. Break open a meatball or use a digital meat thermometer to check that the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165℉ (74℃). You should not see pink meat either!
Remove the cooked chicken from your skillet (wok, etc.) and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or tray.
Make the Manchurian Sauce
In a small mixing bowl combine the sauce ingredients including 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato paste or sauce (optional), 2 tablespoons chili paste, 1 teaspoon sugar, and a pinch of salt (to taste).
Clean your frying pan (wok, etc.) leaving about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil for the sauce.
Over medium heat, fry the onions or green onions along with 1 ½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste and cubed bell peppers. Cook until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the sauce then make a slurry with the second portion of 3 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water. Pour the slurry and 1 cup of chicken broth (or water) into the sauce once the sauce begins to bubble.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Once thickened remove from heat.
Add the fried chicken pieces or meatballs back into the frying pan and stir to coat thoroughly. Serve immediately.
Notes
The chicken can be cubed into bite-size pieces or finely minced to form meatballs later. Either way, proceed through the marinating portion and up to frying. The only exception is that you would need to form the chicken into 1 to 1 ½-inch meatballs before frying (after marinating).Place the fully cooled chicken and sauce into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 -4 days maximum. However, this breaded chicken is best eaten within 1 - 2 days.If you know you may have more than enough for your planned appetizers, it would be ideal to store the fried marinated chicken separate from the sauce. This would yield the best results when it's time for reheating!