Chicken Manchurian

Preparation

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- Cut the chicken pieces about 1 inch in size.
- Clean and wipe dry the chicken.
- Chop the spring onions, keep lower & upper portions separate.
- Slice 1/2 onion finely.
- Finely chop green chilies.
- Finely chop ginger and garlic.
- Make separate ginger garlic paste.

Marination: Part 1

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- Take the chicken pieces in a bowl.
- Add 2 tsp salt (or as per your taste)
- Add ginger & garlic paste to the bowl.
- Add 1/2 tsp black pepper powder.
- Add 1 tsp sugar.
- Add 2 tsp vinegar.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of soya sauce.
[Mix everything very well]

Marination: Part 2

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- Add 1.5 tbsp of sesame oil to the marinated chicken.
- Add 1 egg & mix.
[The egg prevent the juice from leaving the chicken]
- Add 50 ml lukewarm water & mix well.

Coating Chicken

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- Add 3 tsp corn flour to the marinated chicken and mix it well.
[Do not make the corn flour coating too thick]
- Take all purpose flour on a flat try.
- Put the chicken pieces on the flour one by one.
- Dust the chicken pieces with flour, shake-off extra flour.

Frying Chicken

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The chickens to be fried in 2 steps, first cook about 70% on medium flame and in second step fry them on high flame.
- Heat pan on medium flame.
- Pour 500 ml sesame oil and heat it up.
[In case sesame is not present, use any vegetable oil]

- Add the coated chicken to the heated oil.
- Fry the chicken about 70% [2-2.5 mins on medium flame]
- Strain out the chicken.
- Increase the flame to high and let the oil heat up more.
- Add the fried chickens to the heated oil for 2nd stage of frying.
- Once the chicken almost golden brown in color, strain out the chicken.
[Use kitchen paper or dry tissue paper to absorb excess oil]

Cooking

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- Heat pan on medium-high flame.
- Add 2 tbsp oil in the pan.
- Add chopped ginger & garlic when the oil is hot.
- Suate for 8-10 seconds.
- Add the green chilis & saute for few seconds.
- Add the chopped lower portion of spring onions & the sliced onion.
- Continue to saute the ingredients.

[Do not make onions, it should be just soft]
- Once the onion slices are transperant, turn the flame to low.
- Add soya sauce, tomato ketchup, & chili sauce, mix everything very well.
- Add 1 tsp vinegar to the mix.
- Take about 400 ml water, mix 2 tsp corn flour. Make sure no lump is present
- Add this corn flour mixed water to the gravy.
- Add the black pepper powder, 2 tsp sugar and little salt. Mix everything well.
- Turn flame to high & make the gravy come to boil.
- Once the gravy start boiling & the rawness of corn flour disappears, turn off flame.
- Add the fried chickens to the gravy.
- Mix the chicken pieces well in gravy.
- Sprinkle the chopped upper portion of the spring onions.

1. Frying chicken on medium flame will uniformly fry the chicken from both inside and outside. But, if chicken is fried on high flame, then the outer layer of chickens will get fried quickly and become hard, yet the inner part will remain little raw. If the chicken are fried more to get the inner part cooked properly, then the outer layer will be over fried and will become much harder.

2. In second step, chickens are taken out of oil before increasing the flame because, since the chicken are already cooked both inside & out. And here we want the outer layer of chickens to become crunchy, but inner portion to remain juicy. Putting the chickens instantly on highly heated oil will get the desired chrunch on outer layer in very short time. But, this short time span will prevent enough heat to reach the inner juicy portion. So, the inside of chickens will remain juicy. Gradual heating up of chickens along with oil would have made the chicken hard both inside out, as both inner & outer layers get adequate time to absorb heat. So, chickens are to be taken out while the oil is heated up.