Chicken Manchurian Recipe
چکن منچورین بنانے کا طریقہ
Prep
25 min
Cook
25 min
Marinate / soak
15 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium
Spice
Mild
Chicken manchurian is the star of the Pakistani-Chinese menu, the dish everyone orders with egg fried rice at a wedding, a dawat or a Friday takeaway. The local version is red, tangy and slightly sweet, built on ketchup, chilli sauce, soy and vinegar, and thickened with cornflour until it coats the chicken. Coating the chicken in a light batter and frying it first keeps it tender inside the sauce.
Ingredients
For 4 servings
Chicken
Sauce
Method
Mix the chicken with the egg, cornflour, maida, soy sauce, ginger-garlic paste, salt and white pepper until every piece is evenly coated. Leave to rest.
⏱ 15 min
Heat the frying oil to medium-hot and fry the chicken in batches, separating the pieces, until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper.
⏱ 6 min
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok on high heat. Stir-fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds without letting them brown, then add the onion and capsicum and toss for 1 minute; they should stay crunchy.
⏱ 2 min
Add the ketchup, chilli sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, white pepper and chilli flakes and stir for a minute, then pour in the water and bring to a boil.
⏱ 2 min
Stir the cornflour slurry and pour it in slowly, stirring, until the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon.
⏱ 2 min
Add the fried chicken, toss for a minute until coated and heated through, scatter the spring onion and serve at once.
⏱ 1 min
Tips for the best result
- For a drier, party-style manchurian, use only 3/4 cup water and 1 tbsp cornflour.
- Fry the chicken up to an hour ahead and make the sauce just before serving; add the chicken at the last minute.
- Taste the sauce before thickening and balance it: more vinegar if flat, a pinch more sugar if too sharp.
Common mistakes
- Adding the cornflour powder straight into the hot sauce. It forms lumps instantly; always mix it with cold water first.
- Letting the chicken sit in the sauce before serving. The coating goes soggy; combine at the last minute.
How to serve
Serve hot with egg fried rice or plain rice, and chicken corn soup to start.
Storing and reheating
Keeps 2 days in the fridge, though the chicken softens. Reheat in a pan with a splash of water. Do not freeze.
Nutrition and cost
Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.
Per serving Estimate
- Calories
- 545kcal
- Protein
- 32g
- Fat
- 33g
- Carbs
- 28g
- Fibre
- 1.9g
- Sodium
- 1740mg
Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method
Cost per servingEstimate
≈ Rs 150
Whole dish ≈ Rs 605 · 66% of ingredients by weight priced
From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works
Chicken Manchurian: questions people ask
Why is Pakistani chicken manchurian red and sweet?
The local version is built on tomato ketchup and chilli sauce rather than the dark soy base used elsewhere. That gives the red colour and sweet-sour taste people here expect.
Can I make manchurian without frying the chicken?
Yes: toss the coated chicken in a little oil in a hot pan until golden and cooked, then add it to the sauce. It will be less crisp but still tender.
Serve it with, and similar recipes
Read this recipe in Urdu: چکن منچورین بنانے کا طریقہ
https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/chicken-manchurian · Handi, DanixSoft