Chicken Manchurian

Chicken manchurian has always been a favorite of mine and I’ve tried it at tons of Indian restaurants. Everyone always makes it a little different so I thought why don’t I take a stab at it. My version is a happy medium between the soy, spicy and tangy flavors I’ve had over the years! This chicken manchurian is husband approved and will be ready in 30minutes!

PREP TIME: 5 minutes l COOK TIME: 25 minutes l TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken

• 4 gloves of garlic, finely grated

• 2 inches of ginger, finely grated

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

• 1/2 a bell pepper, diced

• 1/2 a small white onion, diced

• 1 cup white cabbage, diced

• 1 carrot, diced

• 1 thai chili, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

• 1 habanero, finely chopped (optional, you can add more of less based on how much heat you can handle)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons ketchup

• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon corn starch

• Salt, to taste

Directions

Makes: 20 meatballs; 4 servings

1. Prepare all vegetables and mix together with 2 cloves of grated garlic, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt.

2. Add vegetable mix, minus 1/2 cup (for sauce), to ground chicken, breadcrumbs and mix together until uniformed.

3. Form golf ball size meatballs with ground chicken mix and set aside on plate; this mix should make about 20 meatballs.

4. Add 2 tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan (I prefer non-stick) and begin to add meatballs once the oil is warm.

   • The meatballs should not touch to prevent them from sticking together.

5. Cover and allow to meatballs to brown on one side before flipping them and repeating the other side; each side will take about 3-5 minutes.

6. Once the meatballs are browned on both sides, add in the ginger, thai chili, habanero, 1/2 cup of reserved vegetables and sauté till fragrant.

7. In a bowl, mix together the chicken stock, low sodium soy, dark soy, ketchup, and vinegar.

8. Add sauce mix to meatballs and cook covered for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.

9. Taste sauce for salt and add more per your taste.

   • I don’t typically add more because the soy sauce is salty enough for me but this is to your preference.

10. Mix cornstarch and water in a bowl and remove all lumps. Add the slurry to sauce mix and cook covered for 5 more minutes on medium-low heat.

Serve hot over rice or thin noodles!