One for the soy sauce lovers out there, Chicken Manchurian is a unique Indochinese dish. A fusion of Indian and Chinese flavours. While you can get a dry version of this dish, this recipe is for the saucy version. It includes irresistibly tender chicken in beautifully rich and spiced curry gravy. Now you can enjoy this restaurant classic at home.

What is it?

Chicken Manchurian was an invention of Chinese restaurants in India. It was apparently created in Mumbai in the 1970s where a Chinese chef living in India was challenged to create a new recipe. He started by using a base of Indian staples, ginger, garlic and chilli, but then mixed them with soy sauce.

Many recipes deep fry the chicken which I avoid to keep this recipe lighter. Some of the Indian recipes out there also contain ingredients that are less common to a Western audience. Therefore, I have adapted it to make it more accessible to my readers in the UK/US. While adapted, it still retains the same great taste (and trust me, I taste-tested it against a restaurant takeaway portion!)

How do you get the chicken so tender?

This recipe uses a top meat hack called velveting which is used by many Asian restaurants. The chicken is tossed in a marinade that contains cornflour/cornstarch. The cornflour breaks down the fibres in the meat resulting in super tender pieces. This is perfect for fast-cook recipes such as stir-fries, where there is a risk of the meat toughening up when cooked fast at high temperatures.

Therefore, don’t skip the marinade!

What can I serve it with?

As Chicken Manchurian is more Chinese in taste than Indian (owing to the amount of soy sauce). As a rule of thumb, you can serve this with most things you would serve a saucy Chinese dish with. Some steamed white rice is the perfect accompaniment, but you could also use fried rice or brown rice. Some other ideas for side dishes are:

• Pak choy with oyster sauce
• Salt and pepper chips
• Prawn crackers
• Sautéed morning glory (technically Thai, but it goes well!)

Can I make it in advance?

Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or on the hob/stove. If the sauce becomes too thick after cooling, you can add a little water to thin it out (but it will also become thinner when reheating so don’t overdo it).

Is it spicy?

This curry was made for Indian palates, so it is typically served hot. However, the beauty of making this at home is that you can control the amount of heat you add.

The curry uses green chilli so you can increase or decrease the amount specified based on your preferences. You could also use large chillies which are typically milder than smaller ones.

Ingredients

The ingredient list for this recipe may look quite long, but worry not, it’s really easy to make and most of the ingredients are spoonable sauces or powder.

For a full list of ingredients with weights and measurements jump to the printable recipe card.

For the chicken + marinade

• Ginger paste
• Garlic, crushed or minced
• Soy sauce (light/regular)
• Cornflour/cornstarch
• Chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

For the sauce

• Cornflour
• Dark soy sauce
• Tomato puree (in some countries this is called tomato paste – it’s the thick stuff sold in little jars or tubes that you want)
• White vinegar
• Chilli sauce/sriracha

For the curry

• Green chillies, finely chopped
• Garlic, crushed or minced
• Ginger paste
• Spring onion/scallions, thinly sliced
• Onion, diced

How to make it

For more detailed instructions with recipe tips jump to the printable recipe card.

1. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.
2. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside until needed.
3. Once the chicken has finished marinating, sauté it in a work or large frying pan/skillet. Once browned on all sides set aside on a plate.
4. In the same pan sauté the chilli, garlic and ginger paste for around 30 seconds.
5. Add the onion and spring onion to the pan and cook for around 5 minutes until softened. Pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for around 5 minutes until it has cooked through, and the sauce has thickened.

Looking for more great Chinese recipes? Try:

• Pak choy in oyster sauce
• Chinese cumin lamb
• Salt and pepper chips
• Salt and pepper prawns
• Honey chilli chicken
• Fakeaway chicken chow mein

Products that work well for this recipe:

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