Chinese sauces are pretty famous in Indian-Chinese recipes. The mouth-watering blend of several tastes such as sweet, sour, tangy spicy like many Indian preparations is probably the most important reason why the Chinese sauces have become great success in India.
Manchurian sauce is one of the most widely used Chinese sauces in India and can enhance the flavour of chicken, meat, vegetables, rice, noodles and even pizzas for that matter. To people’s surprise, many pizzerias in India serve Manchurian pizzas.
Coming to the point, Manchurian sauce prepared in India is really a friendly blend that accommodates wide range of vegetables, meats, fish and even Indian cheese popularly known as paneer.
Here is a quick and healthy recipe of Tofu and Vegetables in Manchurian Sauce. The recipe is healthy because tofu or bean curd is a good source of protein and is a blessing for those who are allergic to dairy products and cannot consume paneer. The value of vitamins, minerals and proteins can always be adjusted in this dish by selecting variety of vegetables and sprouts to accompany deliciously soft tofu. Cheese lovers can use fresh paneer in the place of tofu.
Ingredients
- 500 gm tofu cut into 2x1 inch slices or big chunks as desired
- 2 cups mixed vegetables as per availability – green cabbage, shredded carrots, broccoli florets, colourful bell peppers, sweet corn etc
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
- Oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Sesame seeds
Ingredients for Sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp canned tomato puree
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
How to make Tofu and Vegetables in Manchurian Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients for sauce except cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.
- Place 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and heat over medium.
- Arrange tofu / paneer slices over in single layer. Fry for a minute for each on both the sides. Remove tofu / paneer on a paper towel and set aside.
- Place 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and heat. Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry for 10 seconds over medium heat taking care not to burn them.
- Add vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 minutes or till the vegetables are just little moist but not cooked completely.
- Stir the sauce mixture well and add it to the vegetables.
- Taste the sauce before adding salt, as soy sauce is pretty salty.
- Mix cornstarch and little water in a small bowl and make thin paste.
- Add the cornstarch paste to the bubbling veggie sauce constantly stirring. The finished sauce should be of gravy consistency.
- Stir in chopped green onions and let the sauce boil for another ½ minute so that the cornstarch is well cooked and the sauce becomes glossy.
- Stir in tofu/paneer and cook for another ½ minute stirring gently not to break the tofu into pieces.
- Turn the heat off and transfer the Tofu and Vegetables in Manchurian Sauce to an attractive serving bowl.
- For the final touch, place 1 tsp oil in a small pan and heat. Add sesame seeds and allow them to splutter.
- Pour this sesame oil over the Tofu and Vegetables in Manchurian Sauce and serve hot over steamed rice or rice noodles.
Shwet Kulkarni - Hi! A market research analyst by profession, I am a freelance writer who enjoys writing articles, stories & poems on all kinds of ...
