ramyaramesh3007These veggie-packed manchurian balls coated in a spicy aromatic manchurian sauce are high in protein, vegan and gluten free!
Ever seen manchurian dishes on the menu at an Indian restaurant? Contrary to popular belief, the term manchurian has little to do with Manchuria or Northeast China – it’s an indo-chinese fusion dish invented in Mumbai, India Chef Nelson Wang.
It IS chinese-inspired though – the sauce features soy sauce, aromatics and has a glossy shine to it similar to a glaze. While the original dish was actually Chicken Manchurian, vegetarians adapted it to create Veg Manchurian Balls made with different types of veggies bound by corn flour. They are then deep fried and coated in the aromatic manchurian sauce.
In this recipe, we’ll be using one of my favourite plant based proteins – tempeh. Tempeh is fermented soybean and has an earthy, nutty flavour. You can also interchangeably use extra firm tofu here. Together with tempeh, we combine green beans, carrots, edamame, oats and aromatics to form balls that will hold their shape. Because we’re using tempeh, this recipe is also high in plant based fibre and protein.
While traditionally deep fried, we’ll be air frying the balls here making it a much healthier alternative. You can also pan fry or deep fry them. The best part is that I can make the sauce while they are being air fried, taking just 30 minutes to put this entire dish together.
Gluten Free Option
For a gluten free option, opt for gluten free oats and gluten free soy sauces. The dark soy sauce would probably be not gluten free so feel free to leave it out of the recipe – the color of the dish just would not be as dark.
Tempeh Manchurian Balls
Ingredients
- 300 g tempeh
- 1 cup green beans
- 1 cup carrot or 1 medium carrot
- 1/2 cup edamame
- 1/4 cup spring onions
- 6 tbsp corn starch
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Manchurian Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sriracha more if you want to spicier
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar or mirin
- 1 tbsp corn starch 1 cup water
- salt if needed
Garnish
- spring onions handful
Instructions
- Add tempeh, green beans, carrot, edamame, spring onions, aromatics, black pepper, salt and corn starch to a food processor.
- Pulse or chop until finely minced. Roll them into small balls with your hands and place them evenly in an air fryer.
- Spray olive oil and air fry for 15 minutes at 190C until crispy. Flip or shake the air fryer pan halfway.
- Alternatively, you can also heat oil over medium high heat and pan fry the balls until golden. Drain on paper towels.
- To a pan, add oil and saute garlic, ginger for a minute.
- Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, dark soy sauce and mix well. Add corn starch slurry.
- Cook until the sauce thickens. Add the air-fried manchurian balls and toss gently or spoon over the sauce so they're coated.
- Garnish generously with spring onions. Enjoy!