Air fryer gobi manchurian
The Indo-Chinese restaurant favorite made lighter: crisp-battered cauliflower tossed in a sticky, garlicky, spicy sauce over rice.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.30 a serving
- 660 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- ½ head cauliflower
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 green onions, whites and greens sliced separately
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp sriracha
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch, divided
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
Each serving has about 660 calories, 13 g protein, 119 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.30 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it with 1½ cups water and ¼ teaspoon salt in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets. the flour, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup water into a batter like thick paint, then the florets in it.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Brush the air fryer basket with 1 tablespoon oil. Air fry the florets in one layer at 400°F until and , 12 to 15 minutes, turning them halfway.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 13 min
Dolly’s tip: Don’t crowd them or the batter glues them together. Two batches is fine.Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a large over medium-high heat. the garlic, ginger and green onion whites for 1 minute, then the green pepper for 1 minute.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Add the ketchup, soy sauce, sriracha, vinegar, sugar and the rest of the water and .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heat
Stir the last tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water, pour it in and stir until the sauce turns thick and glossy, about 1 minute.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Mix the cornstarch with cold water first. Straight into a hot sauce, it turns into lumps.Turn off the heat, add the cauliflower and to coat. Scatter the green onion tops over and serve right away with the rice.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Toss and eat. The coating softens if it sits in the sauce for long.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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