Here is my spicy and delicious vegetable manchow soup that will tingle your tastebuds! Learn how to make this crowd-pleaser veg manchow soup quickly in Instant Pot with a detailed video and step-wise pictures.
While Indo-Chinese cuisine has fantastic dishes like noodles, Manchurian, my favorite has always been this veg manchow soup. Being a soup lover, that’s not surprising, right?
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Let’s get straight into dietary specifications and the recipe.
Ingredients required
Sesame Oil – I have used Indian sesame oil here. While it enhances the flavor, you can use the oil of your choice.
Vegetables – I have used spring onions, green chilies, garlic, and mixed vegetables – green bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and cabbage. We also need cilantro, which adds a nice flavor.
Sauces – I have used dark soy sauce, vinegar, and green chili sauce. I have explained more about dark soy below. Please check.
Liquid – I have used 2 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. You can use four cups of vegetable broth. I always opt for low-sodium vegetable broth.
For the slurry, we need some water and corn starch to thicken the soup.
Apart from these ingredients, we need salt black pepper powder and garnish some deep-fried noodles. I went with store-bought fried noodles. I have explained it in detail below.
The detailed measurements are in the recipe card.
Dietary Specifications
This veg manchow soup is vegetarian, dairy-free, and nut-free. But as we are using store-bought sauces, make sure to check the allergen details.
Now without any further ado, let’s see how I made this soup with the video and step-wise pictures.
Watch me make veg manchow soup
How to Make Veg Manchow Soup in an Instant Pot
- Set the Instant Pot in the saute mode and when it is hot, add 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Now add the chopped green onions aka spring onions (reserve the green part for garnishing), garlic cloves, green chili, and ginger. Saute for 30 to 45 seconds or until the garlic browns lightly.
- Next, add the veggies. I used 2 cups of finely chopped mixed vegetables – green bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and cabbage. Add the salt and ground pepper and mix the veggies.
- Now add all the sauces – dark soy sauce, vinegar, and green chili sauce. Mix them all.
- Add all the liquids now – 2 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Mix thoroughly. Press the cancel button, and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the soup at high-pressure manual/pressure cook mode for 2 minutes, and after the cooking is done, release the pressure after 10 to 12 minutes.
- Carefully open the Instant Pot lid once the pressure has subsided. Set the Instant Pot in saute mode again. Mix 2 tbsps of cornflour with 2 tbsp of water and make a slurry. Add this to the soup and mix it well. Add the cilantro and the green part of the green onions and let it simmer for 7 to 10 minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the fried noodles before serving and serve hot.
Recipe Notes
- Instead of sesame oil, you can use peanut oil or any neutral oil.
- You can use veggies of your choice, and there is no set measure. But I don’t add more than 2 tbsp of chopped bell peppers as it overpowers the flavor. It’s a taste preference. Adjust accordingly.
- Since we love spicy soup, I added green chili, ground pepper, and green chili sauce. So please adjust the spice measure as per your taste. You can ignore the green chili if needed. I have tried this soup with red chili sauce.
- Make sure to add the fried noodles just before serving. If not, it will become soggy.
- As we include ingredients high in sodium content, add salt as required or a little less. If needed, add later.
- Adjust the cornflour slurry as per your consistency preference. If you want a thinner consistency, reduce the cornflour.
Store-bought fried noodles
Ok, I can hear you asking how can manchow soup be effortless when we have the task of making fried noodles. Errr, I used store-bought fried chow-mein noodles.
Yes, it’s a semi-homemade soup recipe, but trust me, folks, the store-bought noodles are going to make your life super easy. Once you have the veggies chopped, you can make this soup in no time.
Now, if you want to skip the noodles, by all means, do so and keep the soup light.
And if you are opting for store-bought noodles, don’t worry; you can use them for your salads and other soups also.
Dark soy sauce
While ginger, garlic, chili sauce, and vegetables play a significant role in the flavor profile, do you know what gives this soup the deep dark brown color? It’s the dark soy sauce.
As the name indicates, dark soy sauce is darker in color but is slightly thicker and sweeter than regular soy sauce. It’s because of the molasses and cornstarch. It’s also aged soy sauce, and the flavor is bold.
You can easily source dark soy sauce. if you can’t get it, then use regular soy sauce but add little brown sugar or jaggery for the added flavor. Also, the regular soy sauce has high sodium content so adjust the salt as per your preference.
Frequently asked questions
The hot and sour soup and manchow are pretty similar, but hot and sour soup is slightly spicy, and we add little extra vinegar to get that sour taste. Some add ketchup too. Also, hot and sour noodles don’t call for any fried noodles.
This dark-brown Indo-Chinese style soup is prepared with mixed vegetables, spring onions, ginger, garlic, flavored with dark soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce, and thickened with cornflour slurry. We top it up with fried noodles on top just like restaurant-style.
No, not at all. It’s a flavorful homemade vegetarian soup without any preservatives. You can skip the fried noodles for a low-calorie version and use low-sodium vegetable broth or homemade vegetable broth.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes
If you try this veg manchow soup, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Veggie Manchow Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves chopped, approx 8 grams
- 1 inch ginger chopped, approx 5 grams
- 1 green chili chopped
- 1 bunch green onions chopped approx 25 grams
- 2 Cups Mixed Vegetable finely chopped ( I used green bell peppers, cabbage, carrot, green beans, and mushrooms)
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp ground pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp white vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp green chili sauce or to taste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup fried noodles or as required
For the slurry
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot in the saute mode and when it is hot, add 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Now add the chopped green onions (reserve the green part for garnishing), garlic cloves, green chili, and ginger. Saute for 30 to 45 seconds or until the garlic browns lightly.
- Next, add the veggies. I used 2 cups of finely chopped mixed vegetables – green bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and cabbage. Add the salt and ground pepper and mix the veggies.
- Now add all the sauces – dark soy sauce, vinegar, and green chili sauce. Mix them all.
- Add all the liquids now – 2 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Mix thoroughly. Press the cancel button, and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the soup at high-pressure manual/pressure cook mode for 2 minutes, and after the cooking is done, release the pressure after 10 to 12 minutes.
- Carefully open the Instant Pot lid once the pressure has subsided. Set the Instant Pot in saute mode again. Mix 2 tbsps of cornflour with 2 tbsp of water and make a slurry. Add this to the soup and mix it well. Add the cilantro and the green part of the green onions and let it simmer for 7 to 10 minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the fried noodles before serving and serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Instead of sesame oil, you can use peanut oil or any neutral oil.
- You can use veggies of your choice, and there is no set measure. But I don’t add more than 2 tbsp of chopped bell peppers as it overpowers the flavor. It’s a taste preference. Adjust accordingly.
- Since we love spicy soup, I added green chili, ground pepper, and green chili sauce. So please adjust the spice measure as per your taste. You can ignore the green chili if needed. I have tried this soup with red chili sauce.
- Make sure to add the fried noodles just before serving. If not, it will become soggy.
- As we include ingredients high in sodium content, add salt as required or a little less. If needed, add later.
- Adjust the cornflour slurry as per your consistency preference. If you want a thinner consistency, reduce the cornflour.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
This is a flavorful and light soup. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thanks.