Air-Fried Crispy Vegetables(Chinese Style)

Veg. Crispy Chinese style. Crispy Make this popular Indo Chinese Restaurant style Veg. Crispy.

Air Fried Crispy Vegetables in Asian sauces, is a delicious snack or starter recipe that can be relished on it's own or with fried rice or your favourite noodle.

 Crispy Vegetables  in Asian sauces like sweet and sour sauce, Kung Pao sauce or garlic sauce are very popular all over the world. It consists of a mix of veggies or can be a single veggie like Cauliflower, coated in batter, deep fried and then sautéed in the sauces. In India is served at parties or at restaurants as starter. Here in US Cauliflower wings in Kung Pao Sauce are very popular.

Air Fried Crispy Vegetables(Chinese Style) are Vegan-friendly, low in oil recipe. It is not gluten-free as it has all purpose flour(APF)/maida in it. You can substitute APF/Maida Almond Meal and Use a gluten-free Soy Sauce for Gluten-free. version and

The dish is very tempting bursting  with crunchy veggies in Chinese flavors, but since it is deep fried, one can't eat regularly. I recently bought Air-Fryer(from Instant Pot)  and apart from trying out cutlets other things in it, I tried making these Crispy Veggies in it. I must say the Air-fried version of Crispy Vegetables was quite good just like the fried one but low in oil. Now I can make one of our favourite snacks without worrying about the extra oil content.

I also added some air-fried Chilli Paneer bites here, will soon update the recipe in a separate post.

Chinese Cuisine

Like many of you my family loves Chinese or I may say Indo-Chinese dishes. I have hardly came across someone who does not like Chinese Cuisine. This cuisine has taken the world by storm. All over the world you can see so many Chinese take-aways and dine-ins, serving lip smacking food. The flavors of the food have global appeal. Though, the food that is served now outside China is nothing like the original Chinese Cuisine, it is an adapted version along with the traditional flavors.

Predominantly , Chinese cuisine is mainly meat  and pork based, suited for non-vegetarians. But lot of vegetables are also used in various dishes. In India where a majority of population is vegetarian, lot of vegetarian options are available. Internationally also many people are turning Veganism and abstain from animal products, even for them lot of adapted versions are there which uses vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, bok choy, eggplant,  string beans, corns etc. For the meat substitute or protein factor Tofu is mainly used by vegans and in India, people prefer Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is different from the Gregorian Calendar. It is Lunar based which means it falls every year on a different date and is named after an animal, as indicated in Chinese Calendar.  The new Year is celebrated as Spring Festival and the festivities span across a period of about 15 days. This  2020, is the year of Rat. Celebrations include making favourite dishes like Spring Rolls, various pork and meat based dishes, fried rice and desserts like sticky rice balls, sesame seed balls are common. (source: online search).

You can check various online resources to know more about the Chinese New Year and celebrations.

Related Recipes that are a must make Spring Festival.. Veg. Fried Rice, Chowmein

Try these... Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-fry, Garlic and Spring Onion Noodles, Crispy Honey Chilli Potatoes, Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce, Basil Chilli Paneer(Gravy),Hot and Sour Soup,

How to make Air Fried Crispy Vegetables in Chinese Style

Chinese style of cooking mainly involves stir frying, steaming or roasting (meats). Stir-frying especially the vegetables maintains the crispiness and nutrient value of vegetable. Few of the dishes are also deep fried and then sautéed in a combination of sauces.

Outside China now many version like Orange Chicken, Manchurian(Indo Chinese), Chilli Paneer are also deep fried and are very popular.

On New Year Day, Buddha's Delight Vegetarian Stir fry and it's various versions are also believed to be served by people who follow Buddhism. It consist of veggies like Bamboo Shots, Shiitake Mushrooms, Lotus Seeds and many other veggies that are native to China.

Prepare the Veggies for Air-Fried Crispy Vegetables

To make this Crispy Vegetable mix, you can take whatever vegetables are available to you. I have taken Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Zucchini and Carrot. I love to add baby corns to it but this time I was not available so I skipped it.

Cut Cauliflower in small florets, cube bell peppers, cut mushrooms in half and carrots  and zucchini in circles. Do not cut very thin strips.

Make Batter for

Air-Fried Crispy Vegetables

Make batter with all purpose flour, cornstarch(sold as Cornflour in India), garlic powder, bell pepper powder, red chilli powder and salt. Add a tsp of oil and make a smooth lump-free batter. Use about 1/4 cup water first then as water 1-2 tbsp( if required) at a time to make lump free batter. The batter should be thick enough to coat the veggies. Do not make free flowing batter. It should be like the pakora/fritter batter.

Add and coat all the vegetables nicely in batter.

Preheat air fryer at 350F, then add the veggies when indicated. Air fry the veggies, it takes about 10 minutes.

Mix all the sauces in a bow. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat a tbsp of oil, add finely chopped garlic, sauté till it gives aroma and then add the sauce mix and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook for a minute then add the air fried vegetables and mix well with light hands. Coat all the veggies nicely in sauce.

Sprinkle Sesame Seeds and finely chopped spring onion greens and serve hot.

Sauce Mix for Air-Fried Crispy Vegetables..

Mix Soy Sauce, Red Chilli Sauce, Tomato Ketchup and Vinegar(rice/apple cider) together.

For the deep-fried version.. Coat vegetables in batter nicely and then deep fry in hot oil, till light brown in color. Oil should be hot enough so that the veggies remain crispy. Take out and cool down and then add to the sauce mix.

Recipe Card for Air-Fried Crispy Vegetables(Chinese style)

Do try this version of Crispy Veggies for your parties, get togethers or game day or any celebration with your friends.

Also, whenever you try the recipe, I will love to hear/share your feedback or any queries in the comment section below. I will try to answer your queries as soon as possible.

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Swati