Quick Spicy Vegan Manchow Soup

Get ready to tantalise your taste buds with the zesty, hot, and tangy Indo-Chinese delight – the Quick Easy Vegan Manchow Soup! Indo-Chinese cuisine has a treasure trove of flavours, and nothing quite captures its essence like the beloved spicy, hot and sour Manchow Soup.

This vegan soup is a sensation in India and across the subcontinent, especially during the frosty winter season. Picture a bowl brimming with a medley of crisp veggies and tofu, creating an exciting mix of textures. Its flavors? A punchy combo of soy sauce, vinegar, and spicy chili sauce that’ll wake up your palate! Thickened just right and crowned with crunchy fried noodles, each slurp promises a hearty, delicious adventure. If you’re seeking a hearty and flavourful soup experience, this Quick Easy Manchow Soup is an absolute must-try. Don’t miss out on trying this sensational soup that’s sure to become a family favourite!

What is Indo-Chinese Cuisine??

Indo-Chinese cuisine is a unique blend of Indian and Chinese culinary styles that brings together the best of both worlds. It’s a fusion cuisine that combines Indian ingredients and spices with Chinese flavours and cooking techniques.

In this cuisine, you’ll find a mix of Indian vegetables and spices along with Chinese sauces, thickeners, Chinese salt, and oils. The cooking style often involves stir-frying in a hot wok and incorporating spices and flavours that cater to the Indian taste buds.

This delightful fusion of spicy Chinese dishes infused with Indian spices and veggies has become incredibly popular in India and the surrounding regions. Now, it’s gaining traction in countries like the USA, England, and Canada.

In Indian Chinese restaurants, whether they’re high-end or street-side eateries, staples like Manchow Soup and Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup are always on the menu. The entire range of dishes served in these restaurants has been transformed to feature a spicy fusion of Indo-Chinese flavours that’s loved and savoured by everyone.

How Make Easy Vegan Vegetable Manchow Soup:

Creating a delicious Vegan Vegetable Manchow Soup is a breeze and one of the quickest soups you can whip up.

Begin by finely chopping crunchy vegetables and sautéing them with onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies, coriander, and mint leaves. Next, let them simmer in vegetable stock. The Chinese touch comes from adding soy sauce, vinegar, chilli garlic sauce, and white pepper.

Typically, dark soy sauce is used to craft this soup, while vinegar brings a tangy kick to the warm broth. To boost the protein, consider adding finely chopped mushrooms alongside tofu or paneer.

The star feature of this soup? The fried noodles! Boil regular noodles, drain them, and then deep fry until they’re delightfully crispy. Served alongside the soup, these fried noodles provide a satisfying crunch with each spoonful, elevating the soup’s texture.

Why make your own Vegetable Stock?

1. Quality Control: When you prepare vegetable stock at home, you have complete control over the ingredients you use. You can select fresh, high-quality vegetables and herbs, ensuring a flavourful and nutritious base for your soups, stews, and other dishes.
2. Customisation: Homemade vegetable stock allows you to tailor the flavours to your liking. You can adjust the ingredients and seasoning levels based on your preferences, creating a stock that complements the specific dishes you plan to prepare.
3. Health Benefits: By making your own vegetable stock, you avoid additives, preservatives, and excessive sodium that are often present in store-bought stocks or bouillons. This allows you to create a healthier option for your cooking.
4. Reducing Food Waste: Making vegetable stock is a great way to utilise vegetable scraps or parts that might otherwise be discarded, such as carrot tops, onion peels, celery leaves, and herb stems. This helps reduce food waste and makes the most of your ingredients.
5. Cost-Effective: Creating homemade vegetable stock can be cost-effective in the long run. Instead of purchasing pre-made stocks, you can use leftover vegetable scraps or inexpensive vegetables to produce a flavorful stock without extra expense.
6. Freshness and Flavour: The process of simmering vegetables and herbs in water allows their flavours to infuse and create a rich, aromatic base for your dishes. This fresh, homemade stock can significantly enhance the taste of your recipes.

In summary, making your own vegetable stock grants you control over ingredients, flavours, and health benefits while reducing waste and potentially saving money. Plus, the homemade version often imparts a depth of flavour that can elevate your dishes like Spicy Thai Roasted Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup or Creamy Tom Yum Soup.

Ingredients Used to Make Homemade Stock

The fresh, aromatic veggie that I have used:

• Onions
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Spring onions

Then, to give the broth even more depth of flavour, I add a little salt, whole white peppercorns and celery leaves.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Make Quick Spicy Vegan Manchow Soup

• Vegetable Variety: Feel free to choose your preferred vegetables for this soup. If making a large batch for later consumption, consider adding cabbage and mushrooms when reheating as their flavours intensify over time, potentially altering the soup’s taste.
• Cornstarch Preparation: Prior to adding cornstarch to the hot liquid, always create a slurry by mixing cornstarch with cold water. This prevents clumping, which could affect the soup’s taste and texture. Avoid adding dry cornstarch directly to the soup, especially when reheating a large batch.
• Homemade Vegetable Stock: For a more flavourful base, opt for homemade vegetable stock. Ensure to wash the vegetables thoroughly before simmering to eliminate any dirt or sand. The shape of the vegetables isn’t crucial; the goal is to break them down to fit comfortably in your pot. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer to remove the vegetables and peppercorns.
• Timing with Crispy Noodles: Add crispy noodles just before serving to maintain their crunchiness and preserve the soup’s texture.
• Adjusting Spiciness: This soup is deliciously spicy; however, adjust the amount of chilies and chilli sauce to suit your taste preferences. If you prefer a milder flavour, reduce the quantity accordingly.

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Quick Spicy Vegan Manchow Soup

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 3 voted )

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Ingredients

Ingredients for vegetable stock:

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 cabbage, roughly chopped
• 4-5 cauliflower florets
• 2 spring onions, halved
• 5-6 garlic cloves 
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp whole white peppercorns
• 10 cups of water

Ingredients for the soup:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger, chopped
• 2 green chillies, minced
• 1 tbsp coriander stems, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp mint, chopped
• 1.5 litre vegetable stock
•  1/4 cup each of the veggies, chopped: cabbage, tomato, french beans, carrots, capsicum, tofu
• 1 tbsp light Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp water
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp spring onion greens, chopped

Ingredients for fried noodles:

• 1 cup boiled noodles
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• Oil for frying 

method

Instructions for stock:

1. Place the onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, spring onions, bay leaves, salt, pepper and water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, for 40 minutes or unto an hour.
2. Strain and discard the vegetables. Season to taste and use in your favourite soup recipes.

Instructions for the soup:

1. Set a wok on high heat, add oil, garlic, ginger, green chillies and coriander stems, mint and coriander sauté it for a minute. 
2. Add the strained vegetable stock to the wok, continue to cook on high flame and bring it to a boil.
3. Add the veggies, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, white pepper powder, and mix well and bring it to a boil. 
4. In a separate small mixing bowl, add cornstarch and water to make cornstarch slurry, further add the cornstarch slurry to the soup and cook until it becomes thick, you can adjust the quantity of the slurry depending how thick you want you soup to be.
5. Check for the seasoning and the spiciness as per your taste.
6. Finish it by adding some freshly chopped coriander leaves and spring onion greens.

Instructions for fried noodles:

1. In a mixing bowl, add the boiled noodles, salt and cornstarch, mix and coat the noodles well with the cornstarch.
2. Set oil for frying, add the noodles carefully and gradually and deep fry them in batches on high heat until crisp and golden brown.
3.  Remove on a kitchen towel and crush them, store them in an airtight container and in cool and dry place.

Serve the soup immediately with some crispy fried noodles and chilli oil!!

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you did, take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @poetryofspices!