What is Manchow Soup
If you’ve never heard of Manchow Soup, you’re in for a treat. This vegan soup is spicy, with a thick broth, yummy fried noodles and a bunch of different stir fried vegetables. It is simply delicious. In fact, aside from Hot and Sour Soup and Tom Yum Soup, manchow is one of our favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants or for takeout. An assortment of vegetables are chopped finely and stir-fried, then added to a thick, savory broth flavored with soy sauce and rice vinegar and topped with crispy fried noodles. It is a delightful starter for an Indo-Chinese feast, but also makes for a lovely, light meal on its own. This is also a very easy recipe, requiring just 15 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes of cook time. That’s right, friends. You can get this deeply satisfying, veg-packed meal on the table in under an hour. I’d call that a weeknight winner! I also love how customizable this soup recipe is. While I opted to add mushrooms, you can easily swap in tofu or sprouts. I added fried noodles to make this a restaurant-style recipe, but you can opt to omit them for a healthier meal. You can also decide to make your soup broth more thick or thin depending on how much cornstarch you add. Now that you know all the virtues of manchow soup – fast, easy, vegan and customizable – it is time to get cooking. Meet me in the kitchen!
How to Make Manchow Soup
Prepare and Stir Fry Veggies
- First chop all the veggies and set them aside. Feel free to add vegetables you like. I have made the soup with these veggies and herbs:
¼ cup finely chopped onions or spring onion whites (scallion whites)¼ to ⅓ cup sliced or chopped button mushrooms¼ cup finely chopped french beans¼ cup shredded cabbage – red/purple or green¼ cup grated carrots¼ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)1 teaspoon finely chopped celery, optional1 to 2 fresh red chilies or green chilies – finely chopped, about ½ to 1 teaspoon1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- Heat oil in a wok or pan and add the chopped ½ to 1 finely chopped red chilies, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger. Sauté for 8 to 10 seconds on a low heat. Note: You can add green chilies instead of fresh red chilies.
- Then add ¼ cup chopped onions or spring onion whites. Sauté again for a minute on low to medium-low heat.
- Now add ¼ cup finely chopped french beans and ¼ to ⅓ cup sliced or chopped button mushrooms. Stir-fry on a medium to high heat till the mushrooms get lightly browned from the edges.
- Lower the heat and add the following ingredients:
¼ cup shredded cabbage¼ cup grated carrots¼ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)1 teaspoon finely chopped celery, optional
- Increase the heat. Stir-fry on a medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper powder and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Stir to combine.
Make Veg Manchow Soup
- Add water or Vegetable Stock to the stir-fried veggies. Stir and mix.
- Season with salt. Don’t go crazy with the salt here, as soy sauce already has salt in it. 9. Allow the soup to come to a simmer on medium heat.
- Meanwhile, make a smooth slurry of 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (a.k.a. corn flour) and 2 tablespoons of water.
- Reduce the heat and add the cornstarch slurry to the soup.
- Stir thoroughly and let the soup thicken. Simmer on a medium-low to medium heat.
- Lastly, add ½ teaspoon of rice vinegar. Switch off the heat. Stir and taste your veg manchow soup. Add more seasonings like salt, black pepper, soy sauce or vinegar if required.
- While the soup is simmering – if you have cooked noodles, then first sprinkle on them 1 teaspoon cornstarch on ⅓ cup cooked noodles. Mix evenly. Ensure that the noodles are at room temperature or cold before you mix the cornstarch and begin the deep frying. Then add them to medium hot oil for frying. This is an optional step.
- Fry the noodles till they are crispy, then drain on paper towels.
- Stir and serve Manchow Soup hot, either topped with fried noodles or simply garnished with coriander leaves (cilantro leaves) or chopped spring onion greens. You can also opt to add both the coriander leaves and spring onions greens as shown in the video. Serve Manchow Soup as a starter with any Indo-Chinese main course like Hakka Noodles, Veg Noodles, Veg Fried Rice. You can also serve it as a light meal on its own. Enjoy! Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Tomato Soup Recipe (Homemade & Easy) Spinach Soup Recipe (Palak Soup) Sweet Corn Soup Recipe Clear Veg Soup (Healthy Clear Soup) This Manchow Soup recipe from the blog archives first published in November 2014 has been updated and republished on December 2022.
title: “Manchow Soup Recipe Spicy Veg Manchow Soup” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-08” author: “Scott Jones”
What is Manchow Soup
If you’ve never heard of Manchow Soup, you’re in for a treat. This vegan soup is spicy, with a thick broth, yummy fried noodles and a bunch of different stir fried vegetables. It is simply delicious. In fact, aside from Hot and Sour Soup and Tom Yum Soup, manchow is one of our favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants or for takeout. An assortment of vegetables are chopped finely and stir-fried, then added to a thick, savory broth flavored with soy sauce and rice vinegar and topped with crispy fried noodles. It is a delightful starter for an Indo-Chinese feast, but also makes for a lovely, light meal on its own. This is also a very easy recipe, requiring just 15 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes of cook time. That’s right, friends. You can get this deeply satisfying, veg-packed meal on the table in under an hour. I’d call that a weeknight winner! I also love how customizable this soup recipe is. While I opted to add mushrooms, you can easily swap in tofu or sprouts. I added fried noodles to make this a restaurant-style recipe, but you can opt to omit them for a healthier meal. You can also decide to make your soup broth more thick or thin depending on how much cornstarch you add. Now that you know all the virtues of manchow soup – fast, easy, vegan and customizable – it is time to get cooking. Meet me in the kitchen!
How to Make Manchow Soup
Prepare and Stir Fry Veggies
- First chop all the veggies and set them aside. Feel free to add vegetables you like. I have made the soup with these veggies and herbs:
¼ cup finely chopped onions or spring onion whites (scallion whites)¼ to ⅓ cup sliced or chopped button mushrooms¼ cup finely chopped french beans¼ cup shredded cabbage – red/purple or green¼ cup grated carrots¼ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)1 teaspoon finely chopped celery, optional1 to 2 fresh red chilies or green chilies – finely chopped, about ½ to 1 teaspoon1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- Heat oil in a wok or pan and add the chopped ½ to 1 finely chopped red chilies, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger. Sauté for 8 to 10 seconds on a low heat. Note: You can add green chilies instead of fresh red chilies.
- Then add ¼ cup chopped onions or spring onion whites. Sauté again for a minute on low to medium-low heat.
- Now add ¼ cup finely chopped french beans and ¼ to ⅓ cup sliced or chopped button mushrooms. Stir-fry on a medium to high heat till the mushrooms get lightly browned from the edges.
- Lower the heat and add the following ingredients:
¼ cup shredded cabbage¼ cup grated carrots¼ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)1 teaspoon finely chopped celery, optional
- Increase the heat. Stir-fry on a medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper powder and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Stir to combine.
Make Veg Manchow Soup
- Add water or Vegetable Stock to the stir-fried veggies. Stir and mix.
- Season with salt. Don’t go crazy with the salt here, as soy sauce already has salt in it. 9. Allow the soup to come to a simmer on medium heat.
- Meanwhile, make a smooth slurry of 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (a.k.a. corn flour) and 2 tablespoons of water.
- Reduce the heat and add the cornstarch slurry to the soup.
- Stir thoroughly and let the soup thicken. Simmer on a medium-low to medium heat.
- Lastly, add ½ teaspoon of rice vinegar. Switch off the heat. Stir and taste your veg manchow soup. Add more seasonings like salt, black pepper, soy sauce or vinegar if required.
- While the soup is simmering – if you have cooked noodles, then first sprinkle on them 1 teaspoon cornstarch on ⅓ cup cooked noodles. Mix evenly. Ensure that the noodles are at room temperature or cold before you mix the cornstarch and begin the deep frying. Then add them to medium hot oil for frying. This is an optional step.
- Fry the noodles till they are crispy, then drain on paper towels.
- Stir and serve Manchow Soup hot, either topped with fried noodles or simply garnished with coriander leaves (cilantro leaves) or chopped spring onion greens. You can also opt to add both the coriander leaves and spring onions greens as shown in the video. Serve Manchow Soup as a starter with any Indo-Chinese main course like Hakka Noodles, Veg Noodles, Veg Fried Rice. You can also serve it as a light meal on its own. Enjoy! Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Tomato Soup Recipe (Homemade & Easy) Spinach Soup Recipe (Palak Soup) Sweet Corn Soup Recipe Clear Veg Soup (Healthy Clear Soup) This Manchow Soup recipe from the blog archives first published in November 2014 has been updated and republished on December 2022.
