These pan-fried Manchurian momos are an Indochinese twist on momos, which are a Nepalese classic. They’re filled with a crunchy and savory vegetable & tofu filling, steamed and pan-fried, and topped with a savory Manchurian sauce. You can enjoy these as an appetizer or even as a meal.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Momo wrappers:
- Combine the flour and water by hand or by using a stand mixer. The water should be about 120 degrees Fahrenheit when mixing. If using a stand mixer, mix on low speed for a few minutes, until the dough starts to form. Then, increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for a few minutes, until you have a well-formed dough. If the dough seems too dry, add a little bit of warm water. If the dough is too liquidy, add a little bit of flour. Once the dough is well-formed, turn the stand mixer off and knead by hand a few times. Then, cover the bowl with a damp towel so that the dough doesn't dry out while we prepare our other ingredients. If making the dough by hand, mix the flour and water together with a large spoon, and then knead it for about 10-15 minutes until you have a well-formed dough. Follow the same steps (e.g. adding more water or more flour if necessary and covering with a damp towel when done).
Filling:
- While the dough is resting, prepare the vegetables and aromatics for the momo filling. Start by dicing the carrot using a vegetable chopper, food processor, or a knife.
- Remove the fibrous parts of the celery stalks and dice them as well. Combine with the carrots and set aside.
- Thoroughly wash the Portobello mushrooms, removing all dirt. Dice them separately from the carrots & celery.
- Finely chop the cabbage.
- Sauté the garlic, ginger, and chilies in a pan on low-medium heat with some sesame oil for a minute or two, or until fragrant. Add in the diced shallots and sauté for another minute or two.
- Increase the height to medium-high and add in the carrots and celery at the same time, sautéing until they are slightly softened.
- Add in the diced mushrooms and chopped cabbage. Sauté for another few minutes.
- Add the salt, black pepper, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and MSG.
- Prepare the tofu. Bring a pan to medium heat, pour in some sesame oil, and crumble the tofu into the pan. Stir the tofu around until it is golden brown, adding in garlic powder, black pepper, salt and MSG. Once the tofu is golden brown, remove from the heat and add it to the vegetables, mixing thoroughly. Adjust any seasonings if necessary.
Assembling and cooking the momos:
- Start by removing the dough from the bowl. Remove a small piece of the dough and measure its mass using a gram scale. I think that 20g is the best size for a momo wrapper, as it is not too small or too big.
- Measure a few balls of dough that are 20g in size, and then leave the rest of the dough in the bowl, covering it with the damp towel. I recommend only rolling 3-5 wrappers at a time, as the dough gets dry quickly and the edges of the wrappers start to develop a crust if left out for too long. Roll the dough pieces into balls and then roll them out with a rolling pin. Try to make them as even as possible, and roll them into a circular shape.
- Place the filling in the momo wrappers Be careful not to overfill, as that will make it difficult to seal them. Seal the momo by making pleats around the circumference of the momo. Once done, set aside and repeat with the rest of the momos, rolling and filling 3-5 momo wrappers at a time.
- Next, steam the momos. I'm using a stainless steel steamer for this recipe. In the steamer pot, bring some water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low and place the steamer tray in the pot. Place some momos on it, and cover with a pot so that the momos can cook. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become slightly translucent. They should look like this when they're ready:
- While the momos are steaming, prepare the sauce. Mix the Manchurian gravy mix with water in a bowl. Mix well, removing any clumps of cornstarch. Bring a pan to medium heat, add in the Manchurian mix + water mixture, and heat until the sauce starts to thicken and bubble. Add in the soy sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add some water to thin it out. Once the sauce has achieved a glossy and thick consistency, mix in the chopped cilantro and sliced green onions.
- Pan fry the momos. You can also deep fry them to achieve a more consistent, golden-brown and crispy texture, if you prefer. Pan fry them until golden brown on the bottom, and then flip them over and fry for a bit longer.
- Plate the momos and pour the Manchurian gravy over them. Top with some more green onions and/or cilantro and enjoy!
Notes
- Flour: Momo/dumpling wrappers typically use all-purpose flour, but I only had bread flour on hand at the time of making this recipe, so I used that. It worked fine, although the momos did turn out a bit doughier. I would recommend using all-purpose flour if you have it, but bread flour also works just fine. Just keep in mind that bread flour has a higher level of gluten content than all-purpose flour, so it creates a stretchier dough. If using bread flour, letting the dough sit for a bit longer (about an hour) before making the momo wrappers helps.
- Knorr Manchurian gravy mix: This mix is a bit hard to find, as it can only be found at some Indian stores and sometimes online. If you can’t find this, you can just skip this and make your own sauce using garlic, chilies, cornstarch, vegetarian oyster sauce, and soy sauce.