BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN is a vegan, easy and delicious Indo Chinese recipe which is prepared with marinated baked tofu and simmered in a spicy, tangy and sweet Indo-Chinese sauce. A perfect gravy to serve as a main but comes with a caution, it’s moreish!
Indians all over the world are obsessed with Indo Chinese flavours which have taken the world by storm over the past few decades. In any fast food restaurants or roadside joints, you’ll find many Indo-Chinese dishes. Indo-Chinese cuisine is ranked as one of the most favourite after local food in India. Some of the traditional recipes are turned into Indo-chinese recipes such as Chinese Bhel, Chinese Samosa, Chinese Dosa, Chinese Paratha just to name a few. We have not yet adventured in making above in our kitchens, but certainly, a couple of recipes such as Soya Veg Manchurian , Baked Sesame Vegetable Spring Rolls and Burnt Garlic and Tofu Fried Rice and they are a hit amongst BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN.
WHAT IS INDO CHINESE CUISINE AND ITS FLAVOURS?
Indo-Chinese cuisine is an amalgamation of a delicious mix of flavours with the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking technique to suit Indian tastes. More than 100 years ago Chinese migrants from Hakka origin brought their rich, spicy and delicious Chinese flavours to Kolkata, India where they came for work. Indians loved their oriental flavours but they soon realised and started combining with some of India’s best most loved dishes, spices and sauces to create unique Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine. Since then enjoying Indo-Chinese dishes is a great pastime across on the street of India. Nowadays the availability of ingredients has become easier thus this cuisine has entered in almost every Indian kitchens and people enjoy fresh and good quality Indo-Chinese cuisine. Indo-Chinese cuisine is packed with bold flavours, multiple ingredients and is definitely tasty! The prominent flavours are Chilli, Manchurian and Schezwan sauce and dishes can be prepared with gravy and without gravy aka dry Manchurian.
WHAT IS MANCHURIAN?
Manchurian is the most popular, ordered and guaranteed crowd pleaser in the Indo-Chinese cuisine. Manchurian is available in vegetarian and non-veg options. In this dish, the main ingredient deep fried and then marinated in a sweet, salty and spicy thick brown gravy. The gravy of the Manchurian sauce is brown, thick and prepared with Indian chilli sauce and Chinese soy sauce along with some basic spices.
BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN
Along with vegetable, cauliflower, paneer and soya Manchurian, tofu Manchurian is becoming popular. In this recipe, tofu can be deep fried or shallow fried but we have baked to keep calories down. We have followed the same method in this recipe as Veg Soya Manchurian the only change is TOFU.
INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN
FOR BAKED TOFU we will need Firm tofu well drained Corn flour Freshly ground black pepper Garlic powder Oil For gravy, we will need Onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies Spring onion Soy and chilli sauce Ketchup Sesame oil Vinegar Sugar salt vegetable stock Corn flour Seasoning Indian spice masala such as red chilli powder, ground cumin and coriander.
HOW TO SERVE BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN?
Manchurian falls in the main course so it perfectly pairs with noodles, vegetable fried rice or Burnt garlic and tofu fried rice.
CAN I MAKE BAKED TOFU IN ADVANCE?
If you are making this dish in a big batch or planning to serve for the party or get together, certainly make its gravy a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. On the day, bake tofu then add it in the heated gravy. This delicious Manchurian can be served at a kitty party, small get together or enjoy over the weekend with friends and family and it will leave you craving for more!
Have you made our Baked TOFU MANCHURIAN?
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Baked Tofu Manchurian
ingredients:
2 packets firm tofu
Salt to taste
1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP oil
2 TBSP. corn flour
1/2 TSP. garlic powder
2 big red onions
4-5 garlic cloves
2″ fresh ginger
3-4 green chillies
5-6 tbsp. white parts of spring onion
1 vegetable stock cube diluted in 250 ml water + saved water from the soya and vegetables.
3-4 tbsp. spring onion green part for garnishing.
2-3 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp sesame oil
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp. cumin and coriander powder
1 tsp. black pepper powder
3 tbsp. corn starch + 1/4 cup water mixed
instructions:
How to cook Baked Tofu Manchurian
Drain all the water from the tofu.
Cut into the desired shape.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
In a big bowl place all the baked tofu ingredients and combine gently.
Place it in a single layer on the baking tray.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Use a food processor to chop onion, garlic, ginger and chillies.
Mix soy, red chilli, sweet chilli sauce and ketchup in a bowl.
Heat the oil in a wok or kadai, add chopped onion mixture.
saute for a few minutes, and add white parts of spring onion.
Add the red chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder and immediately add soy sauce mix.
Stir this mixture for few minutes and add vegetable stock.
Simmer this mixture for 2-3 minutes, or starts to bubble on the sides add cornstarch mix.
Keep stirring and mixing and cook for 4-5 minutes, if mixtures get thicken add hot water.
Now add salt and black pepper powder.
Keep stirring add vinegar and switch off the heat.
Add baked tofu and keep them in for 2 minutes.
Garnish with the spring onion greens and serve immediately with fried rice or noodles.
NOTES:
These Vegan Thai Peanut Butter Noodles take less than 30 minutes to put together. Colourful vegetables and noodles are stir-fried with a creamy peanut sauce. Perfect for busy weeknights.
These easy vegan peanut noodles are so much better than takeaway and are surprisingly easy to put together. The only prep time you need is chopping up some veggies and whisking up a homemade peanut sauce. After that, quickly boil noodles and stir-fry with the veggies! The delicious peanut sauce has to be my favourite part of the recipe. The medley of peanut butter, soy sauce, Sriracha and Thai sweet chilli is simply irresistible!
We’ve got some colourful vegetables that are stir-fried in toasted sesame oil, at the right temperature and time, so they stay colourful and crunchy. A generous squeeze of lime juice, coriander, roasted peanuts, and spring onion complete the dish.
For variation, you’ll love this Peanut Noodle Salad .
For more vegetarian Thai recipes, try my:
Coconut Pineapple Thai fried rice (vegan) Thai green curry hummus Roasted Thai cauliflower soup Thai carrot and cashew soup
Thai green curry paste
Ingredients
Noodles – I have used dried egg-free noodles but you can use fresh egg noodles or dried pasta such as spaghetti noodles. Experiment with variations such as rice noodles, soba noodles, udon noodles and ramen noodles. Sesame oil – I use toasted sesame oil, but if you can’t find it, use any regular oil or peanut oil. Vegetables – Carrots, red bell peppers (capsicum), green onions (spring onion) and fresh ginger and garlic. You can also add green beans or sugar snap peas. Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients – For the sauce I used a natural peanut butter, soy sauce and to add a little kick to the noodles red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce. Any other hot sauce will do the job. I used a mixture of smooth and crunchy peanut butter but you can either. If you use crunchy, you can leave out the addition of the roasted peanuts. I add hot water to thin out the sauce. Sweetener – To sweeten the sauce, I’ve used Thai sweet chilli sauce but brown sugar or maple syrup will do the same trick. For tanginess add rice vinegar, lime or lemon juice. Garnish – Freshly chopped coriander, crushed roasted peanuts and spring onions. Serve with lime/lemon wedges.
Recipe Variations
- For more plant-based protein, add air fryer crispy tofu or edamame.
- For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free noodles and tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Storage
Store noodles in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days however they are best eaten by the next day as the peanut butter considerably thickens the sauce and will make the noodles dry.
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Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles
Equipment
- 1 Wok or large pan
Ingredients
Thai Peanut Sauce
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or any other hot chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- hot water to thin the sauce
Noodles
- 500 gram noodles
- 2 carrots cut into batons
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 2 tablespoon minced ginger and garlic
- 2-3 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- salt to taste
Garnishing
- 2-3 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander
- 3 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts Omit if using crunchy peanut butter
- 2 spring onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds optional
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Thai peanut sauce
- In a bowl whisk all the peanut sauce ingredients.
Noodles
- Heat water in a big pot, and add a few drops of oil. Cook as per packet instructions.
- Drain the water
- In a wok heat oil on high, add garlic and ginger, sauté for a few seconds.
- Add carrots slices and cook for a minute or so.
- Then add capsicum and stir-fry the veggies for 2-3 minutes on high heat.
- Add the peanut sauce and mix.
- Tip in boiled noodles and toss.
- Add salt, juice of a lime, roasted peanuts, spring onion and coriander leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
