Spusht: Manchow Soup: Indo

Indian-Chinese food is very popular in India, and is a favorite of many people – whether ordering a Manchow Soup to start meal with, Manchurian as an appetizer at the restaurant, or watching Hakka Noodles cooked in a wok over high flame at the street side. Some seasonings and cooking techniques of Chinese cuisine adapted to Indian taste and style makes this Indo-Chinese fusion food a different cuisine altogether.

Indo-Chinese Style Manchow Soup

Here is a vegetarian recipe for Manchow Soup, from Shobha Indani’s book Swad Sugandh. This soup is pretty much transparent and you can see all the vegetables floating. Healthy stuff, if you ask me. This Manchow Soup thickens because of cornstarch; never ever add heavy cream to it.

Also, I do not add monosodium glutamate (MSG) or ajinomoto in my food, and have omitted it from the original recipe.

Vegetarian Manchow Soup Recipe (serves 6)

What you’ll need:

1 Tbsp Oil

2 Tbsp Spring Onion Whites, chopped

1 Tbsp Mint Leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped

2 tsp Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Ginger, grated

2 cup Assorted Vegetables, finely chopped

2 Tbsp Tomatoes, chopped

5 cups Vegetable Stock / Water

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Chili Sauce

Salt, Sugar, Black Pepper Powder to taste

2 Tbsp Cornstarch + ½ cup Water

2 tsp Vinegar

To garnish:

¼ cup Spring Onion Greens, chopped

Chili Oil

Crispy Noodles

Ingredients for Manchow Soup

Let’s Begin!
Assorted Vegetables
You can use vegetables of your choice, such as Green beans, Carrot, Capsicum, Cabbage, Cauliflower, etc. To cook, add them in the order of their cooking time, for example, add green beans, carrot and cauliflower first because they take a little longer to get tender than chopped capsicum & cabbage.

Chili Oil
Heat ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) oil in a pan on high flame till smoking point, add to it 5-6 broken dry red chilies & switch off heat. Allow to cool. Strain & discard chilies, use this ‘chili oil’ as required.

Crispy Noodles
Boil a packet of Chinese noodles along with a tsp of oil & salt until just about 50% cooked. Let it drain completely on the strainer & spread them on dry cloth & let them dry for 15-20 mins. When dry, deep fry in hot oil till just about golden-brown & crispy. Drain on absorbent paper & allow to cool. Use it to garnish soups or eat it as a snack. Can be stored in airtight container until further use.

How to Make Indian Style Manchow Soup

1. Heat oil in deep pan on high flame, then add spring onion whites + garlic + ginger + mint + cilantro, sauté few seconds & add the assorted vegetables of your choice, stir fry 2 minutes.
2. Then add tomatoes + stock/water + soy sauce + chili sauce, mix well & add salt + sugar + black pepper powder to your taste & let boil.