Manchow Soup: Indo - Chinese Food

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.

Spusht | Indo-Chinese style Manchow Soup
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

Spusht | Ingredients for Manchow Soup
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.

How to make vegetarian Manchow soup
3.  Then add the cornstarch paste & cook, stirring continuous till it thickens.  Finally add vinegar, mix & remove from heat.
4.  Transfer to bowl, sprinkle ‘chili oil’ on it, garnish with spring onion greens & ‘crispy noodles’, serve hot.

Recipe card for Manchow Soup
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16 comments:

  1. Hey hi.How you doing ???Manchow soup looks amazing...I always wanted to try this but now I have something tried and tasted here which is always helpful...bookmarking it...

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  2. actually I have Swad Sughand :)....I am so lazy :)

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  3. My favourite soup. Never got down to making it. Will try. Pictures are great

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  4. wow....lovely n delicious luking soup...

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  5. Brilliant photographs! They make me drooool!

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  6. Bookmarked..its a awesome recipe.. my sis loves it..am making it for her..

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  7. I am a big fan of indo-chinese food and this soup would be perfect for my lunch :-)

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  8. Manchow soup looks delicious.

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  9. I love Indo-Chinese food- this looks delicious and healthy too!

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  10. There is something special about Indo Chinese food. Kinda hits the spot. I used to order this soup regularly when I was in B'lore. Your post is just beautiful. Loved it..!

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  11. Yummy bowl of goodness, perfect for a chilly day!! Thanks for stopping by my blog, from Leslie!!

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  12. Thanx for stopping by my blog..Delicious n healthy soup..loved click too...

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  13. Indian Chinese is one the things I miss most about India. Never ordered much of Manchow soup though, always went for sweet corn chicken soup or talumein soup, but this looks hearty!

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