Chicken Manchurian - a favorite

A few days back I had made a post on "Hakka noodles" on the blog. I love Chinese food as I mentioned.

Chinese is a preferred menu at my place and so I do make the Hakka noodles and this Chicken Manchurian quite often. A great way to make my daughter eat a complete meal- all the vegetables in the hakka noodles are happily eaten without any fuss with this manchurian that she loves.

A fussy and hard to please culinary expert I have here. In fact, she enjoys helping me around the kitchen and also has a good sense of taste and understanding of food. A chef at heart is what I like referring to her as. Actually when I do have people over for dinner I do make it a point to make my little one taste the dishes first. If she approves it then it is a sure hit. A real hard to please expert she is. Absolutely no diplomacy when it comes to giving feedback on the dishes, however, when it comes to complimenting too she is very liberal. A wonderful critic although at times I have to eat my own words. I definitely owe a lot to her on improving my culinary expertise.:)

Coming back to my chicken manchurian recipe. This is a real quick and easy formula that you can whip up when you do have guests over for lunch or dinner. I am sure you would enjoy serving a great Chinese meal right at home.

Ingredients:
250 gms boneless chicken ( cut into bite size pieces)
2 stalks green onions (chopped fine)
1 stalk of celery (chopped fine)
1 bell pepper (cut into cubes)
1 onions (sliced)
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
½ tsp pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch
3-4 tbsp of all purpose flour
2 tbsp chopped garlic
cooking oil
2 cups chicken stock

Method:
Marinate the chicken in all purpose flour, cornflour, salt and a pinch of pepper. Deep fry the chicken pieces and keep aside.

For the gravy:
Take a pan and add 2 tbsp of oil to it. Add the chopped garlic, onions, bell pepper , green onions and stir for a minute or two. Add the celery and stir. Add in the soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, salt and stir. Add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Adjust the seasoning. Add the fried chicken pieces and boil for a minute. Mix 1 tbsp of cornflour in water and add to the gravy. Boil for a minute till the gravy thickens. Serve with Chinese fried rice or hakka noodles.