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Chicken Manchow Soup

Tanvi Srivastava
Chicken Manchow Soup is flavorful indo chinese soup made with chicken, stir fried vegetables, indian spices and chinese condiments.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Chinese, Indian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 (~150-170g) chicken thighs boneless & skinless
  • 2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 500 ml chicken broth or chicken stock, I use low sodium
  • 1.5 cup water

Aromatics

  • 4 large garlic cloves finely chopped (~ 1.5 tablespoon)
  • 1.5 tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped , adjust to taste
  • 3-4 indian green chillies (hot), finely chopped,adjust to taste
  • 3 scallions white and green parts finely chopped seperately
  • 6 oz crispy noodles I use fresh yakisoba noodles & air fry them at home

Fresh Vegetables (Use any variety of vegetables you like)

  • ½ cup green cabbage small diced
  • ½ cup mushrooms small diced
  • 1 medium carrot small diced or shredded
  • ½ cup green bell pepper small diced
  • 6-7 baby corn thinly sliced in rounds

Spices & Indo Chinese Condiments

  • 1 tablespoon cornstrach
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
  • 1.5 tablespoon dark soy sauce I use Chings brand
  • 1.5 tablespoon green chilli sauce I use Chings brand , (hot), adjust to taste
  • ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste, quantity of salt depends on how salty your chicken stock is and also on saltiness of your soy sauce
  • ½ tablespoon rice vinegar adjust to taste

Instructions
 

Make Crispy Noodles (Use one of the following methods for hommade crispy noodles) Or use store bought

  • Use pre cooked fresh noodles. I use yakisoba noodles available in the refrigerator section of most american stores. These noodles work great. Layer the soft cooked noodles straight out of the packet on the air fryer basket. Spray with oil a few times. Air fry at 400F for 6-8 minutes. Keep an eye these brown pretty quickly. Once cooled, break into small pieces.
  • Use dry noodles - Cook the noodles in boiling water as per package instructions. Drain and then spread the noodles on a paper towel to dry for an hour or so. Sprinkle some corn strach on the dried noodles and then use air fryer or you could deep fry too.
  • Store bought crispy noodles - I have see crunchy noodles in asian stores as well as indian grocery stores, you can pick a pack on your next visit.
    Note - Please don't skip the crispy noodles topping, they really add to the authentic taste of manchow soup.

Prep Vegetables & Chicken

  • Using a sharp knife, chop the washed and cleaned vegetables in a small dice. If possible, cut all the vegetables the same size.
  • On another cutting board, cut the chicken thighs into sa mall dice. Try to keep the same size as vegetables.
  • In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoon cold water to make a slurry.
    Note - Please make sure that all the ingredients are ready and measured out before you start cooking the soup.

Make Chicken Manchow Soup

  • Place a cooking pot on stove and pour oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies and scallions (white parts). Stir-fry on high for 20 seconds taking care that they don't burn.
  • Add the diced chicken now, sprinkle a litle salt (¼ teaspoon) and fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes or until its fully cooked.
  • Next, add all the diced vegetables(except the scallion green parts). Stir fry the vegetables together with chicken on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until they look a little sweaty. We don't want to cook them down, they should have a bite.
  • Add the chicken broth (or chicken stock) and water next to the stir-fried vegetables & chicken. Mix in the soy sauce, green chilli sauce, and black pepper powder. Mix, taste and if needed, adjust the salt. Depending on the sodium in your chicken stock and salt in the soy sauce, adjust the salt level.
  • Bring the soup to a rolling boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and mix in the cornstarch slurry to the simmering soup.
  • Let the soup boil for 2-3 minutes more to make sure that the corn starch is cooked. Don't thicken too much. You want the soup to be pourable.
  • Switch off the stove. Mix in the rice vinegar & scallion green parts. You could also add some chopped cilantro if you wish.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with handful of crispy noodles. Serve on its own as a light meal or with other indian chinese dishes such as chicken hakka noodles or paneer chowmein.

Notes

    • Chop all ingredients before you start cooking. Measure the condiments as well. Once you start cooking, the process is quite fast on high heat. To preserve the texture of vegetables, avoid pausing to measure ingredients.
    • If you want more protein in the soup, add a beaten egg towards the end and swirl around in one direction to make egg strands similar to egg drop soup.
    • You could add small diced tofu instead of chicken. 
    • If time allows, marinate the chicken in little garlic, ginger, black pepper and soy sauce for 30 minutes to 1 hour to bump up the flavor.
    • I highly recommned using homemade or store bought chicken or vegetable stock for the taste similar to restaurant style manchow soup. You could add a bit of bullion paste or powder instead of chicken stock. In my opinion, just water gives a flat tasting soup.
    • Reduce the amount of green chillies and green chilli sauce for a milder version. You can adjust the soy sauce and ground black pepper levels too as desired.
Ingredient Substitution 
  • Green Chillies - Use diced jalapenos or serraro peppers.
  • Dark Soya Sauce - Tamari or regular soy sauce available in your local grocery store. You could use light soy sauce for a less pronounced color and flavor.
  • Rice vinegar - Use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if rice vinegar is not available.
  • Green Chilli Sauce - Use sriracha sauce or any hot sauce with a similar thickish consistency.
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