A delicious combination of mixed vegetables and Asian sauces; Manchow Soup is a great way to warm up. This restaurant style version is super easy to make in the Instant Pot.
Indo-Chinese cuisine is a popular one at our dinner table. From noodles and rice to dumplings, Chinese bhel and different kinds of mains; we love it all.
Manchow soup has been a favorite for many years. A mix of finely diced vegetables with a truck load of ginger and garlic, this soup uses a mix of Asian sauces to flavor it.
Video Recipe
What you need to make this soup?
This soup can be made with any combination if vegetables. I generally use peppers, cabbage, carrots, green beans and mushroom for the recipe.
Feel free to add broccoli, baby corn, red cabbage or any other vegetables you like.
If any of these vegetables are unavailable, skip them. As the recipe uses a combination of vegetables, it is okay to leave out a couple.
The sauces used in the recipe include dark soy sauce, vinegar and red chili sauce. Dark soy sauce is needed to get the signature color in the soup.
This mix of vegetables and sauces with water would be pretty thin. A mix of corn starch and water is needed to thicken it up. This step is not really optional as it makes a vegetable clear soup into a thick manchow soup.
All these ingredients are generally to find in the pantry and refrigerator.
Role of Dark Soy Sauce
The recipe calls for dark soy sauce and not the regular one.
This is a must have as the dark color is attributed to it. If you use light or regular soy sauce, the soup will be a pale color using even a few teaspoons of it.
Adding a lot to get the color might give you an overpowering taste of the sauce and that is not what we want.
Do you need Fried Noodles to make this?
I would say YES! The soup is not Manchow without it.
These are a MUST-HAVE to get the authentic feel of the soup.
Though if you enjoy Indian Chinese cuisine as much as I do, you might have it in bulk! There is almost never a shortage of these in my pantry.
If you do not have them, you can make some at home too. Cook noodles till almost done, drain and dry over kitchen towels. Sprinkle a couple of spoons of corn starch and coat them.
Fry these and enjoy!
Why use the Instant Pot to make the soup?
I have been making Manchow soup on the stove top for so long but this Instant Pot version is much simpler and easy to make.
For the stove top version you cook the vegetables and then add the rest of the ingredients.
I prefer the Instant Pot version as it is hands-free, quick and tastes almost the same as the stove top one.
Plus, reheating the soup before serving is super simple. Just press the sauté button and let the soup boil for a few minutes. One pot that does it all!
Serving suggestions
This soup is best enjoyed with Indian Chinese appetizers, mains, rice or noodles. My favorites are these:
- Black Pepper Tofu
- Burnt Garlic Fried Rice
- Crispy Thread Paneer
- Gobi Manchurian
- Mushroom Fried Rice
- Non-Fried Vegetable Manchurian
Method
1- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add sesame oil. Let it heat for a few seconds.
2- Add the garlic, ginger and green chili.
3- Sauté till the garlic sizzles and loses its raw flavor.
4- Add the red pepper and green onions. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
5- Tip in the chopped carrots, green beans and mushrooms. Mix well and let them cook for a couple minutes.
6- Season with salt and pepper and add water. Stir it.
7- Close the Instant Pot lid. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Release the remaining pressure.
8- Set the mode to sauté and add the cabbage. Mix well.
9- Once the soup starts to bubble, add the corn starch mixed with water. Add the vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce. Let the soup thicken for a few minutes.
10- Serve topped with fried noodles, cilantro and green onions.

Instant Pot Manchow Soup
Ingredients
- Carrots ¼ cup diced
- Green Beans ¼ cup stringed and chopped
- Red Pepper ¼ cup diced
- Green Onion ¼ cup diced
- Cabbage ¾ cup shredded
- Mushrooms ½ cup diced
- Ginger 1 inch piece grated
- Garlic 4-5 cloves grated
- Green Chili 1-2 diced
- Sesame Oil 2 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Pepper ¾ tsp
- Water 3 cups
- Red Chili Sauce ¼ tsp
- Vinegar 1 tsp
- Soy sauce 2 tsp
- Corn Starch 2 teaspoon in ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add sesame oil. Let it heat for a few seconds.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chili.
- Sauté till the garlic sizzles and loses its raw flavor.
- Add the red pepper and green onions. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Tip in the chopped carrots, green beans and mushrooms. Mix well and let them cook for a couple minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and add water. Stir it.
- Close the Instant Pot lid. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Release the remaining pressure.
- Set the mode to sauté and add the cabbage. Mix well.
- Once the soup starts to bubble, add the corn starch mixed with water. Add the vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce. Let the soup thicken for a few minutes.
- Serve topped with fried noodles, cilantro and green onions.
Yield: 4
Instant Pot Manchow Soup
A delicious combination of mixed vegetables and Asian sauces; Manchow Soup is a great way to warm up. This restaurant style version is super easy to make in the Instant Pot.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Ingredients
- Carrots ¼ cup, diced
- Green Beans ¼ cup, stringed and chopped
- Red Pepper ¼ cup, diced
- Green Onion ¼ cup, diced
- Cabbage ¾ cup, shredded
- Mushrooms ½ cup, diced
- Ginger 1 inch piece, grated
- Garlic 4-5 cloves, grated
- Green Chili 1-2, diced
- Sesame Oil 2 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Pepper ¾ tsp
- Water 3 cups
- Red Chili Sauce ¼ tsp
- Vinegar 1 tsp
- Soy sauce 2 tsp
- Corn Starch 2 teaspoon in ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add sesame oil. Let it heat for a few seconds.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chili.
- Sauté till the garlic sizzles and loses its raw flavor.
- Add the red pepper and green onions. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Tip in the chopped carrots, green beans and mushrooms. Mix well and let them cook for a couple minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and add water. Stir it.
- Close the Instant Pot lid. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes with the pressure valve in sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Release the remaining pressure.
- Set the mode to sauté and add the cabbage. Mix well.
- Once the soup starts to bubble, add the corn starch mixed with water. Add the vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce. Let the soup thicken for a few minutes.
- Serve topped with fried noodles, cilantro and green onions.
Did you make this recipe?
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