Sriracha Glazed Vegetable Manchurian

Crispy vegetable manchurian glazed in a spicy sriracha sauce. Try these for an epic spicy twist to the popular Indo-Chinese classic.

Vegetable manchurian is one of my favourite dishes to order off of an Indo-Chinese menu. You can often choose between a dry or saucy version dependent on your preference. It’s honestly a mouthful of flavour and texture.

For this recipe, I’ve put a slightly different spin on the traditional manchurian to add some extra umami and a a lovely spicy sauce.

What is manchurian?

Manchurian is an Indo-Chinese dish which consists of ‘dumplings’ that are deep fried and tossed in a classic soy-based sauce. These dumplings usually consist of a handful of vegetables, however variations do exist which include paneer or tofu.

The vegetables in the manchurian are tossed together with some form of starch which allows it to bind. They’re then fried till crisp and tossed in an Indo-Chinese sauce. The sauces can vary dependent on individual preferences.

But I’ll be sharing my sriracha glazed vegetable manchurian recipe below (it’s by far my favourite).

What should I serve this manchurian with?

Manchurian is pretty versatile, you can serve it up alone as an appetiser or alongside rice or noodles. All 3 options work brilliantly and it’s ultimately down to personal preference. I do love eating these alone as they’re so full of flavour, however I do have a personal favourite.

I find that these go really well with my Spicy Lemongrass Noodles, the combination works really well. The spices from the manchurian alongside the spices within the noodles, plus the citrusy lemongrass and sweet shallots are just a match meant to be. Otherwise some steamed rice is also a good option (but not as good the noodles!).

You can also serve manchurian along with naan providing that the manchurian is more on the saucy side rather than the dry. Honestly feel free to take your pick, either way this will be delicious.

What you’ll need to make these Sriracha Glazed Vegetable Manchurian

The full recipe can be found at the end of the blogpost

For the dumplings/kofta you will need:

• Cabbage – preferably green or white cabbage
• Carrot – adds a lovely sweetness and texture
• Chestnut mushroom – which will add some umami as well as texture
• Garlic and ginger – essential for all Indo-Chinese dishes
• Light soy sauce – helps to season and add umami
• Sriracha sauce – I’ll cover this in a bit more detail below
• White pepper – adds some earthiness and an additional mild heat
• Plain flour and corn flour – essential for binding

For the sriracha sauce you’ll need:

• Shallot – or a small red onion
• Garlic and ginger
• Sriracha
• Ketchup – great for adding a little acidity and sweetness to Indo-Chinese sauces
• Rice vinegar – adds extra acidity and helps to balance out the spice
• Sweetener of choice – e.g. honey/agave/maple syrup
• Coriander
• Salt

How to make these sriracha glazed vegetable manchurian

For the kofta:

1) Place all your ingredients into a food processor and pulse until finely minced (see 2). This does not need to be completely homogenous because texture is a wonderful thing! If some pieces are bigger than others, and it all looks like a variety of sizes then stop pulsing. You can also finely mince the ingredients with a sharp knife if you don’t have access to a food processor.

3) Sauté the vegetable mixture in oil until it releases its moisture, and continue to cook until this starts drying up
4) Add in your minced garlic and ginger and mix

5) Add in your sauces and seasonings (light soy sauce, sriracha sauce and white pepper) and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the mixture dries up
6) Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl

7+8) Whilst the mixture is still warm, add in the flours (plain flour and corn flour), the heat from the mixture will activate the starches to help bind the mixture. If your mixture has cooled down or still has excess moisture, you may need to add slightly more of the flours. You want to be able to form a ball in your hands that holds together.

9) Roll the mixture into 15 koftas using oiled hands. I’ve air fried my kofta but feel free to deep fry if desired

Making the sriracha sauce:

1) Mix your sauces together (sriracha, ketchup, rice vinegar and honey along with half a tsp of salt)

3) Sauté the shallot (or onion if you prefer), until it starts to turn translucent (4) and then add in the garlic paste

5) Add in the sauces and continue to simmer for 1 minute or until it just starts to thicken
6) Then turn off your heat and add in the coriander

7) Finally add in your kofta and toss to combine. Feel free to garnish with spring onions, coriander, chilli oil or just a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil. This is best served immediately.

Troubleshooting and Q+A:

My kofta won’t bind together?

This usually means there is a lack of sufficient binding agent, so try adding more corn flour to the mixture. I prefer supplementing with more cornflour rather than plain flour as it doesn’t impact the final texture as much.

Why is the kofta mix cooked?

It’s a good opportunity to provide extra seasoning! It also allows you to form the final kofta with less binding agents as you’ve already cooked out most of the moisture.

What if I want this more dry, or more saucy?

For a more dry manchurian, cook down the sauce more between step 5 and 6 so it reduces. For more sauce just scale it up!

Can this be deep fried/air fried/baked?

It can be deep fried (which is honestly my preferred method as texturally it’s the best). It can be perfectly air fried as I’ve done here too, but baking wasn’t too great. Technically it will work and can be done in a preheated oven at 200’C for around 10-15 minutes, but the texture was mediocre at best.

What if I want to make this more mild?

Substitute some of the sriracha sauce with ketchup if you prefer it more on the mild side.

What is the purpose of the mushrooms?

They add great texture as well as providing some umami-ness to the final kofta, which is VERY well received. Umami is always our best friend, so use it whenever possible.

Why is this so delicious?

It just is guys, it just is.