I sort of took last week off since it was Easter, and whilst I don’t really celebrate that, I do celebrate my family with my family, and went to my parents’ house for Easter dinner. I say “sort of” because I did some meal prep for the week, but that doesn’t fit my Sunday Gourmand theme, so here we are with a fantastic dish that I was extremely pleased with. Enjoy!

The Sauce Is the Star: Chicken Manchurian, Sunday Gourmand Edition

Inspired by and adapted from a New York Times recipe, this Indo-Chinese classic got the Sunday treatment and delivered every bit of what was promised

Chicken Manchurian is one of those dishes that sits at an interesting crossroads. It is not quite Chinese, not quite Indian, and completely its own thing. Born out of the Indo-Chinese culinary tradition that developed in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in the late 1970s, it is a dish built around bold, glossy sauce, tender chicken, and a balance of sweet, savory, and spicy that is frankly difficult to stop eating. This version was inspired by and adapted from a New York Times recipe, followed closely and to great effect, with a few pantry choices that made it feel right at home in a Sunday Gourmand kitchen.

The results were, to put it plainly, fantastic. Here is what went into it and why each piece matters.

Velveting: The Technique That Changes Everything

If you have ever wondered why chicken in a good Chinese restaurant has a silky, tender texture that home cooking rarely achieves, velveting is the answer. The technique involves coating the chicken in a mixture of egg and cornstarch and letting it rest for a full 30 minutes before it ever sees a pan (this is an absolute must!!). The coating creates a protective layer around each piece that keeps moisture locked in during cooking, so the chicken stays tender and silky rather than turning tight and dry.

The eggs contribute protein and help the cornstarch coating bind evenly to the chicken. The cornstarch itself gives each piece its light, slightly golden exterior and eventually helps thicken the sauce when the chicken goes back in. Do not rush this step. The full 30 minutes is part of the recipe, not a suggestion, and the difference in texture between a properly velveted piece of chicken and one that skipped the rest is noticeable from the first bite.

Chicken Breast: Lean Protein That Benefits From the Process

Boneless skinless chicken breast is one of the leanest proteins available, which is both its strength and its challenge. It is high in protein and low in fat, making it a genuinely healthy centerpiece for a dish like this. The challenge is that its lack of fat makes it easy to overcook and dry out. Velveting solves that problem completely. The egg-and-cornstarch coating insulates each cube during the initial cook, and the chicken finishes in the sauce rather than cooking all the way through in the pan first, which means it arrives at the table juicy and coated in glaze rather than tight and dry. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes, it also cooks quickly and evenly, and every piece gets full sauce coverage when it goes back into the pan.

The Sauce: Five Ingredients That Build Something Extraordinary

The sauce is built from ketchup (yes, I said ketchup), gochujang, sriracha, coconut aminos, and Mackay’s Ginger preserve, and it is the heart of the entire dish. Each ingredient performs a specific job, and none is redundant.

Ketchup provides the tomato base, the sweetness, and the body. It is a more complex ingredient than it gets credit for: the tomatoes in it are cooked and concentrated, which means their vitamins and antioxidants are well absorbed, especially when paired with the oil in the pan. Gochujang brings fermented depth and a savory heat that fresh chili cannot replicate. It contributes gut-friendly properties from the fermentation process and vitamins from the red peppers it is made from. Sriracha adds a cleaner, brighter heat on top of the gochujang’s deeper warmth, and the two together create a more interesting spice than either would alone.

Coconut aminos add savory depth and a slight sweetness without the high sodium of soy sauce, keeping the dish balanced and giving more control over the final salt level. And Mackay’s Ginger preserve is the ingredient worth singling out. A good ginger preserve brings both the heat and brightness of fresh ginger and the deep, jammy sweetness of a slow-cooked fruit spread. It rounds out the sauce in a way a plain spoonful of fresh ginger would not, adding complexity that makes people ask what exactly is in it.

Whisked together before anything hits the pan, this sauce goes in as a single, unified mixture rather than ingredients added one at a time, which means the flavors are already integrated before the heat develops them further.

Low-Sodium Chicken Stock: The Liquid That Becomes the Glaze

A full cup of low-sodium chicken stock goes into the pan with the sauce mixture, allowing the sauce to simmer and reduce into the glossy, lacquered consistency that defines this dish. Stock contributes minerals and depth that water simply cannot, and low-sodium specifically means the sauce can be seasoned precisely rather than arriving already too salty. As it simmers and reduces, the flavors concentrate, and the sauce transforms from a loose mixture into a thick, glossy, deeply savory coating that coats every piece of chicken.

The Cornstarch Slurry: A Small Step With a Big Effect

A teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with cold water, stirred into the simmering sauce, is what takes a good sauce to a great one. Cornstarch thickens quickly and produces a cleaner, glossier finish than flour would. The key is mixing it with cold water first so it dissolves completely before hitting the heat, and stirring immediately when it goes into the pan so it incorporates evenly rather than clumping. It is a quick step that makes a visible difference in the final dish.

Blooming the Pepper Flakes: Why This Step Should Not Be Skipped

Before the sauce goes in, the red pepper flakes get a minute in the remaining oil over medium heat on their own. This is called blooming, and it is a technique borrowed from Indian cooking where whole spices are toasted in fat to release their flavor and heat into the oil before anything else is added. The oil carries those flavors throughout the dish in a way that adding spices to a liquid base never quite achieves. The heat from the pepper flakes becomes part of the sauce’s foundation rather than sitting on top.

Bell Pepper and Spring Onions: Texture, Color, and Freshness

The bell pepper goes into the sauce early enough to soften slightly but not so early that it loses all its texture. It adds color and a gentle sweetness that balances the heat of the sauce, and it is a solid source of vitamin C and other vitamins. Red, yellow, or orange are all good choices here for their sweetness; green would add a bitterness that would work against the sauce. I used red since it is my fave.

Spring onions are used in a way that is worth paying attention to: the white parts go in with the chicken at the end of cooking, where they soften slightly and add a mild onion flavor throughout the dish. The green tops go on as a garnish after the heat is off, where they stay fresh and bright, adding a clean, herby note on top. Using both parts at different moments is a small detail that makes the finished plate feel more considered.

Garlic and Ginger in the Velveting Mixture: Seasoning From the Inside Out

Most recipes add garlic and ginger to the pan. This one puts them directly into the velveting mixture, which means the chicken is seasoned from within rather than just on the surface. Every cube of chicken absorbs those flavors during the 30-minute rest, and they carry through even after the chicken is coated in sauce. Garlic is well known for supporting heart health and immune function. Fresh ginger supports digestion and has anti-inflammatory properties. Both are more effective when used fresh and grated fine, rather than minced or powdered, as they are here.

Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds: The Finishing Touches That Tie It Together

Sesame oil goes in at the very end, drizzled over the finished dish after the heat is off. This is intentional. Sesame oil has a distinctive, nutty flavor that is best experienced fresh rather than cooked, and its healthy fats are better preserved when it is not exposed to high heat for long. A small amount is all it takes to give the dish its characteristic aromatic finish. The tricolor sesame seeds scattered over the plated dish add a gentle crunch, a visual flourish, and a small but real contribution of minerals and healthy fats that make the garnish feel like part of the dish rather than decoration.

Olive Oil: The Cooking Fat That Does Its Job and Steps Aside

Four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil are the cooking fat for the chicken and the bloomed pepper flakes, and it stays in the pan to become part of the sauce. It is a heart-healthy fat with good antioxidant properties, and cooking the sauce in it rather than draining it out means those benefits carry through to the finished dish. Medium heat is specified for cooking the chicken rather than high, which keeps the olive oil in a comfortable range and gives the velveted coating time to set without burning before the chicken is cooked through.

How It All Comes Together: The Order That Makes It Work

The sequence of this recipe is what separates a good result from a great one. The chicken velvets while the sauce is built, so nothing is waiting on anything else. The chicken is cooked in batches to avoid crowding, which is critical because crowding lowers the pan temperature and causes steaming rather than searing. It comes out and rests while the pepper flakes bloom in the oil, then the sauce goes in and thickens before the chicken returns.

That return trip into the sauce is where the dish finishes coming together. One to two minutes of gentle stirring coats every piece completely and heats the chicken through without overcooking it. By the time it comes off the heat and the sesame oil goes on, every component has had exactly the time it needed, and nothing has been rushed or overworked. Served immediately, while the sauce is at its glossiest, over brown rice or turmeric pearl couscous (what I used), it is exactly the kind of meal that justifies keeping Sunday nights reserved for cooking.

Chicken Manchurian — Tim’s Sunday Gourmand Edition

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• INGREDIENTS
• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch for velveting
• 1 teaspoons cornstarch for sauce slurry
• 1 teaspoons garlic freshly grated
• 1 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
• 1 teaspoons black pepper
• 0.5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 0.5 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 0.5 cups ketchup
• 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce
• 1 teaspoons sriracha
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoons Mackay’s Ginger preserve
• 1 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 bell pepper red, yellow, or orange, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 3 spring onions thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
• 0.5 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoons tricolor sesame seeds

Method

 

1. STEPS
2. Velvet the chicken: In a medium bowl, whisk both eggs until smooth. Gradually whisk in the 4 tbsp cornstarch until there are no lumps. Stir in the grated garlic, grated ginger, black pepper, and salt. Add the chicken cubes and stir until every piece is thoroughly coated. Cover the bowl and set aside for the full 30 minutes — this is the velveting step and it’s what makes the chicken silky and tender rather than just cooked through.
3. Build the sauce and slurry: While the chicken velvets, stir together the ketchup, gochujang, sriracha, coconut aminos, and Mackay’s Ginger preserve in a small bowl until smooth. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 1 tsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp of cold water until completely smooth — this is your thickening slurry and you’ll add it later. Set both aside.
4. Cook the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large wok or deep skillet over medium heat for 45 seconds — not screaming hot, just medium. Add the velveted chicken in batches, never crowding the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the pieces start turning white, then flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until just turning golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce so don’t worry about cooking it all the way through here.
5. Bloom the pepper flakes: In the same pan with the remaining oil, add the red pepper flakes and let them bloom for about 1 minute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. This step wakes up the heat and infuses the oil with flavor — don’t skip it.
6. Build and thicken the sauce: Add the sauce mixture to the pan along with the chicken stock and bell pepper pieces. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir — it will have settled — then pour it into the pan and stir immediately. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and turns beautifully glossy.
7. Bring it all together: Add the white parts of the spring onions and the cooked chicken back into the pan. Stir gently to coat every piece in the glossy sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is heated through and fully lacquered. Remove from heat and drizzle the sesame oil over everything as a final flourish.
8. Plate and serve: Spoon generously over brown rice or turmeric pearl couscous. Scatter the green parts of the spring onions over the top and finish with a sprinkle of tricolor sesame seeds. Serve immediately while the sauce is at its glossiest.

Notes

NOTES
Don’t rush the velveting rest — the full 30 minutes makes a real difference in texture. The chicken should be silky and tender inside with a light golden exterior. The sauce is the star so let it reduce properly before adding the chicken back in. If your wife wants even less heat, drop the sriracha to half a teaspoon and reduce the red pepper flakes to a pinch — it’ll still have warmth and personality without the kick.

Worth Following to the Letter

This is a recipe that rewards close attention to the directions. The velveting rest, the bloomed pepper flakes, the cornstarch slurry, the sequenced return of the chicken to the sauce: each step is there for a reason, and each one shows up in the finished dish. Inspired by the New York Times and adapted for this kitchen, it delivered every bit of what was promised and then some.

Bold, glossy, deeply savory, with just enough kick to keep every bite interesting. Completely irresistible is not an overstatement.

Let the sauce reduce. Let the chicken rest in it. Then serve it immediately and take all the credit.

If you try it, please send me a picture and let me know.
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Slàinte and bon appétit!