Brussels Sprouts Manchurian

Use in-season Brussels sprouts to make this very flavorful vegan Brussels Sprouts Manchurian, my take on a popular Indo-Chinese dish called Vegetable Manchurian. The dish is best served with a quick vegetable fried rice, but plain rice works, too. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.

Brussels Sprouts Manchurian

Growing up in Mumbai, our go-to family night dinner was on Sunday. We would look forward to trying a new restaurant, though in the 1980s, there weren’t many different cuisines. We would go to restaurants that served North Indian cuisine, or fast food spots for pizza and burgers, and of course Indo-Chinese restaurants.

My Take on the infamous Vegetable Manchurian – Brussels Sprouts Manchurian

I came up with a riff on Vegetable Manchurian, one of my favorites from when we frequented Indo-Chinese restaurants. The dish features vegetarian balls made of shredded cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic and ginger, fried to golden brown perfection. For my version, I wanted the main ingredient to be an in-season vegetable: Brussels sprouts.

Where and when did Manchurian originate?

The vegetarian version originated from Chicken Manchurian, which is believed to have come from Nelson Wang, a third-generation Chinese chef born in Kolkata, India. He fried chicken and doused it in a sauce made with ginger, garlic and green chiles — key parts of Bengali cuisine — along with Chinese staples like soy sauce and chile sauce. The chef went on to open Mumbai’s famous China Garden restaurant, where I had the pleasure of dining many times during my childhood. 

How to prepare the Brussels Sprouts Manchurian?

Brussels sprouts have an acquired taste, and over the years I have come to love it. Preparation of the brussels sprouts manchurian is key. Roasting the sprouts with olive oil and spices gives the dish so much flavor. I especially love the small bits that crisp up in the oven. Every holiday season, I roast Brussels sprouts and toss them with a cumin-coriander vinaigrette, dates, walnuts and pomegranate arils. (The recipe can be found in my cookbook, “Mumbai Modern.”)

For the Manchurian dish, you’ll need to shred the Brussels sprouts and carrots. You could use a grater, but it will take a long time. Trust me, you’ll want to use a food processor for efficiency. 

Key Ingredients in the Brussels Sprouts Manchurian Balls:

The ingredients are as follows:

• Alliums like garlic, ginger and green chili: Alliums are necessary in any Ind-Chinese dish and make the dish flavorful.
• Brussels Sprouts: it should be shredded finely to be able to get the best results and to be able to bind the balls. Use a mandolin for the same.
• Other vegetables like carrots, bell peppers and green onions: They provide texture and taste to the balls. And of course, the more vegetables the better it is :).
• Cornstarch: helps to bind the balls together and stay firm.
• Salt and pepper: for flavoring

I use the essentials of any Indo-Chinese dish — ginger, garlic, green chiles — to flavor the Manchurian balls, along with all-purpose flour and cornstarch to bind them. The key to getting spheres is to press a portion in your palm and use your fingers to shape it into a ball. The vegetables release liquid, which helps keep the balls together. They are fried until golden brown.

Ingredients in the gravy for the manchurians:

The ingredients of the gravy are:

• Soy sauce and dark soy sauce: They provide the umami and color in this dish and make the base for the gravy.
• Apple cider vinegar: provides that acidic taste required for the Indo-Chinese gravies
• Hot sauce: I love the gravy to have a hot and spicy taste, hence I add hot sauce
• Ketchup: Ketchup is another component of Indo-Chinese gravies and adds depth in terms of the sweetness and sourness in the gravy.
• Alliums like garlic, ginger and green chili: Alliums are necessary in any Ind-Chinese dish and make the dish flavorful.
• Cornstarch: helps to bind the balls together and stay firm.
  Salt and pepper: for flavoring

You can get dark soy sauce from here.

Since you’ll use some vegetables in both the balls and the gravy, I suggest chopping or shredding them at the same time. Once the ingredients are prepped, the Manchurian gravy comes together easily. A mixture of ginger, garlic and green chile is sauteed in oil, along with green onions. Next we add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper. Dark soy sauce, which is deeper in color, thicker and sweeter than the standard, is key to adding color as well as flavor — it’s my own special touch. I like mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce, which is available at Asian markets.

A cornstarch slurry is pertinent to thicken the gravy. After the sauce is simmered for a few minutes, the Brussels sprout balls get dunked in. I love serving this dish with a simple vegetable fried rice, but plain rice would work, too.

Even better, leftovers heat up well in the microwave the next day. Add a few tablespoons of water, to get the gravy consistency, prior to serving.

If you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog.

Other Indo-Chinese dishes that are
on my blog are:

• Healthy Gobi Manchurian
• Schezwan Tofu Fried Rice

If you do make this recipe, please tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.

XO
Amisha

Brussels Sprouts Manchurian

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• Amisha Gurbani

Indo-Chinese, vegan, vegetarian, dinner, quick and easy, brussels sprouts manchurian

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Brussels Sprouts Manchurian Balls

• 10 garlic cloves
• 3-inch piece ginger
• 2 to 3 serrano chiles
• 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely shredded
• ½ cup heaped finely shredded carrots
• 1 cup finely chopped bell pepper, ideally a mix of colors, divided
• 1⅓ cup finely chopped green onions, divided
• ¼ cup cornstarch, plus 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• Neutral oil for frying

Gravy

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons hot chile sauce, such as Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup water

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Garnish

2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped

Method:

Make the Brussels Sprouts Manchurian Balls:

1. Place the garlic, ginger and green chiles in a mini food processor, and grind until chopped finely. Divide the mixture in half.
2. In a large bowl, add the shredded Brussels sprouts, carrots, half of the chopped bell pepper, half of the green onions, half of the garlic-ginger-green chile mixture, ¼ cup cup cornstarch, all-purpose flour, black pepper and salt.
3. Mix with your hands until well combined. The vegetables will release water and help form a dough. When you clasp a portion in your hands and release, the dough should hold.
4. Take about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the dough in your hand. Keep clasping and releasing to bind and form a tight ball, about the size of a golf ball. Place on a plate. Repeat with the remaining dough to make around 20 to 22 balls in total.
5. In a bowl, add the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Lightly roll each ball in cornstarch and set aside on the plate.
6. Place neutral oil in a saucepan, about 2 to 3 inches in depth, on medium-high heat. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes for the oil to get hot. Place a tiny piece of the dough in the oil. If it floats up immediately, the oil is ready.
7. Add 3 balls at a time to the oil, turning them occasionally so they cook evenly. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Make sure the temperature of the oil doesn’t get too hot to ensure that the balls are cooked inside as well.
8. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain off excess oil. Repeat for the remaining balls.

Garnish

2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped

Make the gravy:

1. In a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, chile sauce, black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside
2. In a large skillet, on medium-high heat, add the oil.
3. After a minute, add the remaining green onions, bell pepper and the garlic-ginger-chile mixture. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch and ½ cup water.
5. Add the soy sauce mixture, cornstarch slurry and 1 cup water to the skillet. Mix to combine.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. The gravy is ready.

To assemble:

1. In a serving bowl, add the gravy. Add the balls to the gravy, spooning the gravy on top to cover the balls. Garnish with green onions. Serve immediately with plain rice or vegetable fried rice.

XO
Amisha