Chicken manchow soup is a hot & spicy Indo-Chinese soup made with shredded chicken, egg, crunchy vegetables, and sauces. This restaurant-style soup is served with crispy fried noodles on top. Here's how to make it at home with step-by-step photos and a quick video tutorial.
This chicken manchow soup recipe is quick, easy, made in one pot, ready in 30 minutes, and tastes much better than the restaurants. You will find a perfect balance of spice, flavor, and crunch in every spoonful.
We all love Indo-Chinese food at home. Whether it's chicken chow mein, chilli chicken, chicken manchurian gravy, Dragon chicken, or egg hakka noodles, these Chinese-inspired recipes are always on rotation.
I love a steaming bowl of Indo-Chinese chicken soup on a chilly night. The spicy broth, crunchy veggies, and crispy fried noodles on top make it so comforting and loved by kids, too. It is one of those soups that feels wholesome and comforting, like my Mediterranean chicken stew, Thai red curry chicken soup, or Mediterranean chicken and chickpea soup.
Chicken Manchow Soup Recipe - Key Points
- ✅ Prep Time: 10 min
- 🔥 Cook Time: 30-35 min
- 🍲 Main Ingredients: Chicken + Vegetables + Egg + Sauces
- 🍽 Servings: 4
- 🧮 Calories: ~204 (approx.)
- 🍳 Difficulty: Easy → One-pot comfort soup
- 🧊 Make-Ahead Friendly: Flavors develop if left for a few hours
- ⭐ Flavour: Hot, spicy, tangy, and full of Indo-Chinese goodness
What is Chicken Manchow Soup?
It is a popular Indian-Chinese (Indo-Chinese) soup made with shredded chicken, colorful vegetables, and a hot & sour broth flavored with soy sauce, vinegar, and chiles. It is spicy, tangy, and savory, served with crispy fried noodles on top for a crunchy texture.
This soup is well-known for its unique egg strands, which are made by stirring while pouring beaten egg gradually into the simmering soup. You can serve it as a starter with egg hakka noodles or egg fried rice.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 🥢 Full of Flavour: Spicy, tangy, and yummy in every bite.
- 🥬 Lots of Veggies: Carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, and mushrooms make it healthy.
- 🍳 Egg Strands: Soft egg strands add a nice texture.
- 🍜 Crispy Noodles: Crunchy noodles on top make it fun to eat.
- 🍳 Easy to Make: Restaurant-style soup you can cook at home in one pot.
Soup Ingredients
See the recipe card at the end of the post for full ingredients, quantities, and a printable version.
This manchow chicken soup does need a little prep. The only time-consuming task is chopping the vegetables, but a vegetable chopper can make it quick and easy.
- Chicken: I have used boneless, skinless breast, but thighs work too.
- Egg: Thickens the manchow soup and adds flavor.
- Chicken broth: Adds flavor to the soup. Can substitute water + 2 chicken stock cubes or bouillon cubes.
- Sauces: I have used both dark & light soy sauces and chili sauce. You can add your regular soy sauce, but do not skip it. It is one of the main flavors of this Indo-Chinese chicken soup recipe.
- Fresh Ginger, garlic, and green chilies: Ginger and garlic are the bases of Asian soups, adding aroma and flavor. Do not skip them. Skip green chilies if making for kids.
- Spring Onions: Use both white and green parts.
- Onion: One small red onion. Adds flavor. Skip if unavailable.
- Vegetables: I have added carrots, bell peppers, and cabbage. You can add corn, beans, or any other veggies you like. Frozen vegetables also work better in this soup recipe.
- Button Mushrooms: Adds meaty flavor to the soup. Can use paneer or tofu, or skip.
- Cornflour Slurry: Thickens soup. Can use potato starch instead.
- Vinegar: I have used rice vinegar. You can use any cooking vinegar. Lemon juice works too.
- Fresh Herbs: Cilantro/coriander leaves add freshness essential for street-style flavor.
- Noodles: Hakka noodles are the best choice. Any thin noodles like chow mein also work well. You can even skip the noodles as they are just a topping, not a main part of the soup.
🥄 Substitutes & Variations
- Skip the addition of chicken and eggs to make a vegetable manchow soup.
- Use pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken and frozen vegetables for a quick dinner.
You might also like these easy soup recipes - chicken noodle soup, one-pot minestrone soup, and roasted pumpkin soup.
How to make Chicken Manchow Soup
Preparations
- Finely chop all the vegetables and keep them aside.
- Finely chop or shred the cooked chicken.
- Prepare the cornflour slurry by mixing cornflour/cornstarch and water. Make a smooth lump-free batter. Keep it aside.
For Fried Noodles
- Cook noodles: Boil the noodles in salted water as per the package instructions. Drain and rinse them with cold water. Let the water drain completely.
- For crispy fried noodles: Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of cornflour over the cooked noodles and toss well. This helps remove extra moisture and makes the noodles crisp when fried.
Making the Soup
- Heat 1 cup of oil in a heavy-bottom pan or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the noodles until crisp, then flip and fry the other side. Remove and set aside.
- Remove extra oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Sauté for a minute.
- Add the onions (spring onion whites and red onion). Cook until onions turn soft.
- Add carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add 4 cups of chicken broth (recipe below) and bring it to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat.
- Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili sauce, black pepper powder, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add salt carefully, as the sauces already have salt. Stir well.
- Add shredded chicken. Beat 1 egg and pour it slowly into the soup while stirring to make thin egg ribbons. Stir gently. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed.
- Add the cornflour slurry a little at a time, starting with 1 tablespoon. Stir and check the soup's thickness. Add more if needed (I used about 2 tablespoons total). Cook for 2 minutes.
- Finally, add coriander leaves and spring onion greens. Serve the Manchow soup with crispy fried noodles on top.
Tips to make the Best Manchow Chicken Soup
- Finely chop the vegetables so they cook faster. Stir-fry them just until soft yet crunchy. Don't overcook the vegetables.
- Add cornflour slurry only when the soup starts boiling. Add 1 tablespoon at a time, stir, and check the thickness. Add more only if needed.
- Add fried noodles on top only before serving, or they will turn soggy.
- For that classic street-style flavor, add fresh coriander leaves at the end.
If you love Indo-Chinese, you might also like gobi manchurian, chicken hakka noodles, and Indo-Chinese vegetable fried rice
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can skip the addition of chicken broth. If you are adding water, add 2 chicken stock cubes for flavor. Plain water will not add the same flavor to the soup.
Yes, it is mildly spicy. You can adjust the spiciness by adjusting the quantity of chili, chili sauce, and pepper in this soup recipe.
Serve manchow soup as a starter or with Hakka noodles, schezwan chicken fried rice, or restaurant-style chicken fried rice as the main course. You can also serve it as a light dinner. It is a complete meal in itself.
Recipe Card
Chicken Manchow Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Heavy bottom pot
Ingredients
For the fried noodles
- 1 cup cooked noodles
- oil to fry noodles
For Manchow soup
- 2 teaspoon garlic finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
- 1 green chili finely chopped
- ¼ cup spring onion white part
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots finely chopped
- 1 cup cabbage finely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ green bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ yellow bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 cup button mushroom finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
- 1 egg
- 4 cups chicken broth
Cornflour slurry
- 3 tablespoon corn flour
- 5 tablespoon water
Instructions
Preparations:
- Finely chop all the vegetables and keep them aside.
- Finely chop or chred the cooked chicken.
- Prepare the cornflour slurry by mixing cornflour/cornstarch and water. Make a smooth lump-free batter. Keep it aside.
Frying the noodles
- Cook noodles: Boil the noodles in salted water as per the package instructions. Drain and rinse them with cold water. Let the water drain completely.
- For crispy fried noodles: Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of cornflour over the cooked noodles and toss well. This helps remove extra moisture and makes the noodles crisp when fried.
Making the chicken Manchow soup
- Heat 1 cup of oil in a heavy-bottom pan or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the noodles until crisp, then flip and fry the other side. Remove and set aside.
- Remove extra oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Sauté for a minute.
- Add the onions (spring onion whites and red onion). Cook until onions turn soft.
- Add carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add 4 cups of chicken broth (recipe below) and bring it to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat.
- Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili sauce, black pepper powder, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add salt carefully, as the sauces already have salt. Stir well.
- Add shredded chicken. Beat 1 egg and pour it slowly into the soup while stirring to make thin egg ribbons. Stir gently. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed.
- Add the cornflour slurry a little at a time, starting with 1 tablespoon. Stir and check the soup's thickness. Add more if needed (I used about 2 tablespoons total). Cook for 2 minutes.
- Finally, add coriander leaves and spring onion greens. Serve the Manchow soup with crispy fried noodles on top.
Video
Notes
- Finely chop the vegetables so they cook faster. Stir-fry them just until soft yet crunchy. Don't overcook the vegetables.
- Add cornflour slurry only when the soup starts boiling. Add 1 tablespoon at a time, stir, and check the thickness. Add more only if needed.
- Add fried noodles on top only before serving, or they will turn soggy.
- For that classic street-style flavor, add fresh coriander leaves at the end.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sunny
It's delicious. Will Make it again. Thanks for the share.