#Ramadan Recipe: Chicken Manchurian

500 grams boneless chicken 2 chicken breasts, cut in small cubes

½ tablespoon garlic paste

½ teaspoon white pepper powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

½ tablespoon soya sauce

1 egg whisked

4 tablespoon cornflour / cornstarch

Oil for frying

2 tablespoons oil use the same oil as was used for frying

½ tablespoon freshly minced garlic can be substituted with garlic paste

4 dried whole red chilies see note 1

1 onion cut into cubes

½ green capsicum / green bell pepper cut into cubes

2 tablespoons soya sauce

2 tablespoons vinegar

½ cup tomato ketchup/tomato sauce

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce or another chili sauce see note 2

1 – 1 /2 cups chicken stock or 1 chicken cube/bouillon cube dissolved in the same amount of water

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

¼ teaspoon white pepper powder

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch dissolved in water

2 spring onions thinly sliced (for garnish)

For the chicken

Place the chicken in a bowl, and add garlic paste, salt, white pepper powder, red chili flakes, and soy sauce. Add the egg and mix well.

Add the cornflour till a thick batter consistency is reached. The recipe states 4 tablespoons of cornflour/cornstarch, but you can add more or less to reach the right consistency.
Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.

Heat oil for frying in a wok or shallow frying pan.

Add the chicken in batches, and fry till golden brown and crispy. Keep the heat low – medium so that the chicken can cook through from the inside but doesn’t burn from the outside.

Set aside the fried chicken.

The chicken can also be shallowly fried, baked in an oven, or made in an air fryer.

For the Manchurian sauce/gravy

Place the tomato ketchup/tomato sauce, sriracha, soya sauce, and vinegar in a small jug or bowl. Stir and set aside.

Heat oil in a large wok / medium-sized pot (or Dutch oven). The same pan can be used that was used for frying the chicken, just remove the oil and leave only 2 tablespoons in the pan.

Once the oil is hot, add the freshly minced garlic and whole red chilies. Saute for a minute, and then add the cubed onions and capsicum.

Sauté for around 2 minutes, and then add the tomato sauce mixture that was kept aside.
Add the chicken stock, along with the red chili flakes, white pepper powder, and salt. Add only a little salt as the other ingredients are already quite salty.

Let the mixture come to a boil, and then turn heat to simmer.

Add the cornflour slurry and cook for 2 – 3 minutes till the gravy thickens and turns glossy.
Add the fried chicken to the gravy and mix through. Cook for a few minutes till the chicken is heated through.

The gravy will thicken a little more due to the fried chicken batter. If you want, you can add more chicken stock at this stage, and adjust seasonings.

Once the chicken is heated through, turn off the heat. Garnish the chicken Manchurian with sliced spring onions and serve hot with fried rice.

Source: ARY Zauq