Soya Chunks Manchurian
Updated: May 18, 2024, By Swasthi
This Soya Chunks Manchurian may be your best friend when you crave for a chicken Manchurian but you don’t have the time or preference to go with meat. If you love eating something meaty without having to eat meat, you will quickly think of soya chunks. This is an easy Indo-Chinese dish where you fry the battered soya nuggets and toss in a sweet, spicy and umami Manchurian sauce.
While you can make a vegetarian Manchurian with mixed vegetables, Mushrooms or with Paneer, Soya Manchurian is so much fun especially if you are a meal maker lover. Though I have deep fried them here for a unique texture, you can always bake or air fry for a low-calorie version.
The deep fried soya chunks remain crisp for an hour which I personally prefer as you can fry them ahead and make the sauce too. Just toss the fried soya nuggets in the Manchurian sauce when you are ready to serve.
I have not marinated them, because I felt they still tasted good without the marinade as they drench up in the sauce. If you are keen for those extra flavors, you may marinate them in soya, hot sauce and ketchup overnight in the refrigerator. Bring them to room temperature and follow the recipe.
Serve this Soya Chunks Manchurian as an appetizer but it also goes well as a side with noodles, fried rice, pasta or spaghetti. They make for a great party appetizer or a tea-time snack.
Here are more Soya Chunks recipes for you
Soya Chunks Curry
Soya Chunks Biryani
Burger patties made with soya
Soya seekh kabab
Soya Kurma
Photo Guide
How to make Soya Chunks Manchurian (Stepwise Photos)
1. Heat water in a pan and add soya chunks. Allow them to soak for 15 mins until they turn soft. Squeeze up the frothy liquid from the soya and add them to fresh water again. Rinse well and squeeze again to remove the froth. This froth if not removed a few times can cause indigestion or tummy upset.
2. Transfer the drained soya chunks to a mixing bowl. I used the same utensil/ pan used to heat up the water.
3. Add ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, salt and corn flour.
4. Mix everything well. If needed sprinkle some water. Set these aside for 10 to 15 mins.
5. Deep fry or bake them at 220 C in oven until golden. Heat oil in a kadai, when the oil is hot fry the soya chunks on a medium heat.
6. Drain them to a kitchen tissue.
7. Pour 1 tbsp oil and saute garlic until they turn aromatic.
8. Add spring onions or onions. Saute for 2 mins.
9. Next add in the capsicum and saute for another 1 to 2 mins.
10. Pour soya sauce.
11. Add Chili sauce and tomato sauce.
12. Stir in ¾ tsp corn flour in half cup water and dissolve it completely. Pour this to the pan.
13. Keep stirring and add salt, sugar, vinegar as needed.
14. Check the taste and add red chili powder as needed, Add pepper too if desired.
15. Mix and cook until the sauce thickens.
16. Cool the sauce a bit and add the fried soya chunks.
Garnish soya chunks manchurian with spring onions and serve immediately.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Soya Chunks Manchurian
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- ¾ cup soya chunks
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ to ¾ tsp red chili powder (less spicy variety)
- ¼ tsp pepper powder (optional)
- 2 tbsp corn flour or corn starch or just wheat flour
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying
For the Manchurian sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp garlic chopped finely
- ½ tbsp ginger chopped finely
- ¼ cup spring onions or regular onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup capsicum / bell pepper, fine chopped
- 1 tsp soya sauce (prefer organic or naturally brewed)
- 1 tbsp chili sauce (prefer without MSG)
- ½ to ¾ tbsp tomato sauce (prefer without MSG)
- 1 tsp vinegar (prefer organic vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- ½ tsp sugar (optional, use if your sauce isn’t sweet)
- ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder (optional, for color)
- ¾ tsp corn flour or corn starch
- ½ cup water
- Salt if needed (may not need)
- ¼ tsp pepper crushed coarsely
- spring onion greens Few , for garnish
Instructions
- Bring 3 to 4 cups water to a boil and add soya chunks. Allow to rest for some time until they turn soft.
- Squeeze off the excess water (froth) from the chunks. Rinse them well in a pot full of water and repeat squeezing them to remove excess water.
- Add them to a mixing bowl along with salt, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder and corn flour. Mix everything well, if needed sprinkle little water for the flour to bind the chunks.
- Set these aside for 10 mins, until you prepare the garlic, onions and capsicum for sauce.
- Heat oil in a kadai and fry these on a medium heat until golden and crisp. Remove them to a kitchen tissue. Set these aside.
Making soya chunks manchurian sauce
- Mix ¾ tsp corn flour in ½ cup water. Make sure it has no lumps. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic and saute for a min. Add spring onions and saute on a high flame till they smell good, for about a minute. Next add capscium and saute for 2 to 3 mins until the aroma comes out.
- Add soya sauce, vinegar, chili sauce & tomato sauce. Stir the corn flour well with water and pour it. Add chili powder if you prefer a deep color.
- Lower the heat and stir well. Cook until the sauce thickens. Taste the sauce and check if needed add sugar and salt. Sauce has to be slightly sour, sweet and hot.
- When the sauce thickens, add pepper and mix. Allow the sauce to cool down a bit. Add the crisp fried soya chunks and mix well.
- Garnish soya chunks manchurian with spring onions.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Hi I tried this chungs Manchurian recipe today.. It was just yumm and delicious. thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe. Evn my fam loved it a lotssss.. Keep growing
Hi Ashel
Glad it turned out good. Thank you so much
🙂
Hi.thanks for sharing this amazing chungs Manchurian reciepe..i tried it today it turned out delicious and yummm!! My fam liked it a lots !Keep growing:)
Manchurians turned out really good! Me and my family loved it. Thank you so much for this :))
Glad to know!
Thank you
Girl – This was a one hit recipe!
Keep sharing because you’re on fire!
Thank you
Yes sure will keep sharing
Hi swasthi. thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes, just love the Indian cuisine and appreciate your work.
just one thing is missing for me. a print setting, to print just the main recipe. if you can manage to install this, it would be super.
Thank you for all the super recipes, it made my life richer and brighter
Hi Jakob,
You are welcome. Thanks for trying the recipes. You can print the recipes from the browser option. Just choose the page number you would want to print. Hope this helps.
I tried this recipe today with jeera rice… It came out really delicious!!! The look and taste of the gravy came out just like restaurant style. Thanks a lot!!!!!☺
Welcome Sonu
Thanks for the comment. Happy to know it turned out good.
Hi swasthi.I’m Fazmila. From colombo sri lanka. I have tried this to day and it came fantastic.its we’ll going with plain rice and dhal curry.thank for the recipe.
Welcome Fazmila
Thanks a lot for sharing the outcome
Hi Swasthi…Great recipe, as usual! I tried it, and it came out tasting great. There’s just one thing…while deep frying, the soya chunks absorbed a lot of oil, and I had to squeeze the excess off later on in a tissue paper. Just wanted to know whether shallow frying with lesser oil would work.
Hi Aditi,
Thanks for trying. The reason for oil absorption could be
1. excess water in the chunks, so make sure water is completely drained off the chunks
2 using too much water to coat the flour
3. Resting them for 10 to 15 mins after coating the flour is very important
4. Oil not hot enough.
I am just surprised to know that they absorbed oil. I do not prefer to share recipes which absorb too much oil or are unhealthy. Actually I have made this several times and it has never happened to me.
Shallow frying will not give the crunch i guess. But you can grill them in oven.
Hope these help
You are right..it must have been the excessive water that was responsible for it. Shall keep this in mind the next time I make it. Also, have you considered writing a book?? It would be a bestseller in no time!
Sorry…gave a 3 stars rating by mistake.
No Problem Aditi,
I have not thought of a cookbook. Managing kids, home and this blog is too hectic for me. Probably when my kids grow up, i should….
Thanks a lot for your suggestion.
🙂
Its really tasty and healthy i tried it and me and my family loved it .. thanks for sharing some quick healthy and tasty recipie …
mouthwatering and great recipe.. thanks for sharing!!
Wow!! I loved your recipe and the picture you have shared here looks amazing. I will try this on this weekend. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.