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You are here: Home / Indo-Chinese Side Dishes / Chilli soya chunks recipe, chilli meal maker

Chilli soya chunks recipe, chilli meal maker

June 3, 2016 82 Comments

Chilli soya chunks is an Indian-Chinese vegetarian recipe with soya chunks or meal maker, a great protein-source for vegetarians. Learn how to make chilli soya chunks using this easy recipe.

chilli soya chunks recipe

TH loves soya chunks. After paneer and mushrooms, this is probably his next favourite thing. Although I used to dislike the bland taste of soya chunks when I was younger, I have acquired a taste for it now. So I am always on the look out for new soy chunks recipes even though I tend to stick with my tried and tested soya chunks masala recipe most of the time. More Soya Chunks RecipesΒ here.

chilli soya chunks recipe

You may also like:
Soya chunks biryani
Soya chunks cutlets

The moment I saw this chilli soy chunks recipe in Soma’s eCurry, I knew I’d be trying it very soon. The ingredients were mostly every-day stuff and I always have some soy chunks (or meal maker, as TH calls it) in the house.

It was really good, to say the least. We had it with chapatis but am sure it goes much better with veg fried rice.

Chilli soya chunks recipe
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
Chilli soya chunks recipe, an easy vegetarian Indian Chinese recipe using soya chunks or meal maker. Perfect with fried rice or noodles.
Author: nags
Recipe type: Vegetarian Sides
Cuisine: Indian Chinese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup uncooked Soya Chunks or Meal Maker
  • 1 onion, chopped into rough squares
  • 1 large tomato, pureed
  • 2 green chillies (I used Thai chilli padi)
  • 1 small capsicum, cut into squares
  • 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste (I used freshly minced ginger and garlic)
  • 6 dry red chillies (adjust to taste)
  • 2 tbsp soya sauce
  • 1 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup/hot and sweet sauce
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Spring onions or scallions for garnishing
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Boil about 4 cups of water and add about ½ tsp salt and the soya chunks to it. Keep closed and let it soak for 30 mins.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the dry red chillies. To this, add the onions, capsicum, green chillies and ginger-garlic mixture. Fry for 2-3 mins on medium heat until the red chillies turn brown and the onions get transparent.
  3. Drain the soaked chunks and reserve the water. Squeeze them gently to remove excess water and add to the pan. Add salt and toss well, letting it cook for about 5 mins and until well combined.
  4. In the reserved water (adjust to get 1.5 cups water, adding more plain water if required), add the soya sauce, pureed tomato and tomato sauce. Mix well.
  5. Turn the heat to high and add this to the pan with the soya nuggets. Mix well on high for 30 seconds and then lower the heat to medium-low. Cook closed for 8-10 mins.
  6. Garnish with the spring onions and serve with fried rice or noodles. I served with rotis and that went pretty well too.
3.5.3208

Note: The quantity of sauce in this recipe can be varied according to personal choice. Since I serve it with chapatis, I wanted more gravy than normal. Make sure you adjust water accordingly because as you keep this dish longer, the soya nuggets will absorb more and more water making the dish drier than you may wish it to be.If you find the gravy too watery, mix 1 tsp corn flour with some water and add to the dish heating it through before removing it from fire.

chilli soya chunks recipe

Β 

Edited to add tips from Reema and Soma:
– To remove the ‘stink’ present in soya chunks which some of you may not like, add some minced garlic and boil in water for 5 mins. Cool, squeeze out extra water and use as above.
– Soak those nuggets in a bowl of hot water, along with 3-4 spoons of milk – that takes away the raw soya taste and leaves the soya nuggets creamy and smooth.
chilli soya chunks recipe
Please feel free to share how you go about preparingΒ the soya chunks before cooking.
For chilli soya chunks recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
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By nags Filed Under: Gravy Vegetarian Side Dishes, Indo-Chinese Recipes, Indo-Chinese Side Dishes, Soya Chunks Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sanghamittra

    March 17, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    Tempting.I will definitely try this.

    Reply
  2. Dixya

    October 30, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    I am so glad to stumble into your blog. All your recipes are so tempting. I love soya chunks!! I have not had them for soooo long but now looking at it i am craving it so much. looking forward to read more of your posts!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    August 23, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    mujhe soya chilli recipe bahut pasand aayi hai kunki mera beta soya pasand nahi karta tha ab chinese ki tarah taste ane se wo soya pasand krne laga hai thanks

    Reply
  4. Devi Raman

    August 23, 2012 at 4:55 am

    Hello Nags, I had prepared this last night for dinner with roti. I also observed that the gravy was watery and not semi thick. As a side note probably, you can mention about adding corn flour. I usually do not go through the comments section, just now I saw the above post about the corn flour.

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      August 23, 2012 at 6:37 am

      i have updated the chilli soya chunks post. thanks for the suggestion devi

      Reply
  5. Anonymous

    July 19, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    Hi Nags, I tried this recipe and it turned out extremely tasty, although the gravy turned out watery and hence we ate it like a stew in a bowl…so I guess corn flour needs to be added to make it thick…I liked this recipe so much that I have decided to add noodles instead of the soya chunks next time…it tastes just like the Dragon Chowmein in Chung Wah restaurant…so thanks for letting me know their secret recipe :-)…Gayathri from Bangalore.

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      July 20, 2012 at 1:22 am

      good point gayathri. you can add cornflour to the gravy to make it thicker but as you can see in the pic, mine was semi thick and there wasn't much of it in fact. maybe your dish had more gravy? either ways, can't go wrong no? and chilli noodles sounds like a great idea!

      Reply
  6. Anonymous

    June 15, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    soo nice……

    Reply
  7. dilli

    May 28, 2012 at 8:13 am

    any more recipe using meal maker? i want to prepare something crispy out of it. can anybody help me?

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      May 28, 2012 at 8:41 am

      you can try soya chunks cutlets. https://www.cookingandme.com/2010/07/meal-maker-soya-chunks-cutlets-recipe.html

      Reply
  8. dilli

    May 28, 2012 at 8:11 am

    thank you for the recipe

    Reply
  9. Ganesh Iyer

    May 9, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    Nice recipes. But consume soya chunks in moderation as there may be haxane residues.

    Reply
  10. yshark

    May 5, 2012 at 2:01 am

    Just found this recipe and tried it – it was simply phenomenal. Had no idea the typical indo-cinese "chilli" dish was so straightforward!!

    Reply
  11. Anonymous

    March 26, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    tried it out but didnt taste good at all and it turned out black in color n it was too salty i think u made a mistake in the ingredients 2tbsp of soya sauce n 2tsp salt to soak the soya chunks is a bit too much…

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 27, 2012 at 7:05 am

      hi there. sorry to hear that it didn't turn out well. i used these proportions and it turned out well. i have heard from a few people who tried it and it turned out well for them too. it's possible that it's because of the type of soya sauce you used, since soya sauce has salt in it already.

      Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 27, 2012 at 7:08 am

      based on your feedback, i decreased the amount of salt to be added to cooking soya chunks to 1/2 tsp

      Reply
  12. Rekha

    January 23, 2012 at 10:47 am

    First time I heard about Soya Chunks (Meal Maker). I tasted it in our Canteen which was really Yummy and wanted to try and got it here. Thanks for the recipe. Will try at home and will give the ranking. But am worried that it stinks, ofcourse will take the tips from the people who have commented on this. Thanks – Rekha

    Reply
  13. Rekha

    January 23, 2012 at 10:44 am

    Was searching for a recipe and found it. The picture tempts us to taste it. Looking at the feedback of various people looks bit confused. People say it stinks which is fiery. Using the Soya chunks for the first time. Will try n let you know how it ranks. Thanks for the recipe – Rekha

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    December 15, 2011 at 2:14 am

    I tried this recipe today,thanks for making it so easy.We loved the preparation!!-Amrutha

    Reply
  15. faustina

    November 10, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    I TRIED THE SOYA CHUNK RECIPE AND IT CAME OUT VERY WELL.MY MOM DOESN'T LIKE THE SMELL AND TASTE OF SOYA…BUT THIS PARTICULAR RECIPE SHE JUST LOVED IT!!!!!!!YUMM…SOY…

    Reply
  16. Aathira

    August 18, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    Hey .. Just happened to be looking for a different soya chunks recipe… than the usual soya chunks masala.

    I tried this, though would like the gravy to be a wee bit thicker… would you suggest adding some corn flour?

    Reply
  17. Nags

    August 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    yes you can definitely try that

    Reply
  18. Nags

    May 6, 2011 at 1:41 am

    yeah, soya chunks are not everyone's favourite, although we like it a lot at home. glad you liked the chilli soya chunks recipe πŸ™‚

    Reply
  19. Divya

    May 5, 2011 at 11:16 am

    tried this yday. It turned to be awesome. I've never had a liking for soya and yday was the first time I ate a good quantity of it happily ! Loved this dish.

    Reply
  20. Anonymous

    October 18, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    I now know what to do with the bag of soya chunks sitting in my kitchen,thanks for the tips!

    Ive only tried to cook with soya once before and they turned out a bit sloppy,im now ready for round two.Adding Vegeta to the water used to boil your soya can add a nice taste i hear!
    Best.

    Reply
  21. Nags

    August 19, 2010 at 1:42 am

    Hello Anon, thank you so much for the tips on how to remove the smell from soya chunks. will definitely try this out next time i cook it πŸ™‚

    Reply
  22. Anonymous

    August 18, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    hi,
    m a big fan of soy chunks and this recipe sounds good will try this one sometime soon.
    i usualy cook the soy chunks in salted water in a small (1.5 or 2 ltr) pressure cooker for about 10-12 mins (2-3 whistles).
    this way the chunks are cooked faster and are super soft and have no smell at all
    try it and lemme know if it was useful.

    tnxb

    Reply
  23. Evelyn T

    May 13, 2010 at 4:24 am

    I'm making a list, checking it twice and making them one by one..LOL..

    So far I love the four items I made. Thanks Nags for being so kind and sharing your talents with us.

    Reply
  24. Shri

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Lovely pics and looks delish !I have only used Soya chunks in pulao but never in a curry.

    Reply
  25. SJ

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    I am just like your TH I love soy chunks!! I am going to try this soon.

    Reply
  26. Sakshi

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    I am just like your TH and SJ…love soya chunks and it's one of my fave 4 o'clock snack which I make really spicy…will try out urs soon…

    Reply
  27. Sonu

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Mouth watering! I always hesitate to buy Soya nuggets whenever I visit to Indian store. Now will buy and try it soon. πŸ™‚ Thanks to Soma & Nags. Lovely pics too.
    (sevenspice.wordpress.com)

    Reply
  28. Nags

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Sig – Hehe.. I actually thought the same when I made this πŸ™‚

    Reply
  29. Nags

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Thats awesome Wandering, thanks! have edited and added to the post πŸ™‚

    Reply
  30. RedChillies

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    I am not very fond of meal maker either, but all the pictures look pretty good.

    Reply
  31. Neethu

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    hey nags..ur pics look superb and am definitely gonna try ur recipe today..will let u know how it turned out πŸ™‚

    http://neetzkitchen.blogspot.com/

    Luv
    Neethu

    Reply
  32. Nags

    April 1, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    thanks for letting me know Neha, so glad you guys liked it πŸ™‚

    Reply
  33. Neethu

    January 20, 2010 at 8:47 am

    hey nags..ur pics look superb and am definitely gonna try ur recipe today..will let u know how it turned out πŸ™‚

    http://neetzkitchen.blogspot.com/

    Luv
    Neethu

    Reply
  34. Nags

    January 16, 2010 at 9:04 am

    thanks for letting me know Neha, so glad you guys liked it πŸ™‚

    Reply
  35. neha

    January 15, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    I tried this out with fried rice! it turned out awesome. My husband loved it πŸ™‚

    Reply
  36. Nags

    January 8, 2010 at 2:50 am

    So glad you liked it Raj! Its always good to get feedback πŸ™‚

    Reply
  37. Anonymous

    January 7, 2010 at 6:25 pm

    It worked out well, taste is superb. Really enjoyed eating it.

    The only change I made is, at the end of cooking I sprinkled some Garam Masala in the preparation to avoid the smell. It worked out very good, no smell at all.

    But overall the recipe was easy to prepare and delicious to eat.

    Thanks once again Nag.

    BKRaj

    Reply
  38. Anonymous

    January 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    This really looks gr8 in the pics. I am trying this now, will let u know the outcome.

    That was a simple process of explaining the procedure of cooking. Thanks for the Recipe Nags…

    BKRAJ

    Reply
  39. Anonymous

    November 6, 2009 at 3:02 am

    Hi!
    After reading about the "stink" in the soya nuggets, I HAD to write what I do, incidently it is one of the favourite dishes of my kids!I always buy at least 5 boxes at a time!
    Here is what I do:
    I put a teaspoon of ghee in a heated pan and then put the soya nuggets in it,lower the heat and keep stirring till they turn golden . Remove ,and soak them in hot salted water for a few mimutes,then squeeze out the water ,put in a plate,change the water,squeeze, do this 2 -3 times( normal,tap water will do ).No smell,tastes delicious…….use in pulao or potato curry with garlic/tomato gravy.
    Hope this helps!
    Meena Sarin

    Reply
  40. Nags

    November 6, 2009 at 3:21 am

    Thank you so much Meena! That's very very useful πŸ™‚

    Reply
  41. Nags

    August 13, 2009 at 2:43 am

    SL – do drop a line if you tried it πŸ™‚

    Reply
  42. Anonymous

    August 12, 2009 at 9:44 am

    I purchased soya chunks for the first time last week and was looking for a recipe, your recipe looks really scrummy so i will give it a try,

    Thanks

    SL πŸ™‚

    Reply
  43. Namratha

    July 23, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    Its the other way around here, I love it and he hates it! This is a good way to use Meal Maker.

    Reply
  44. Manasi

    July 23, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    My hubby likes soy chunks too, I'm afraid I am the one who has trouble with the texture πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  45. Mahimaa's kitchen

    July 23, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    i love soy chunks too.. but never tried it this way. looks yummy!!

    Reply
  46. Aparna

    July 23, 2009 at 9:32 am

    I am the only one here who likes soya chunks, so I reserve it for days when I have to cook only for myself (very rare). πŸ™

    My daughter loves Indian Chinese so maybe, just maybe she will like this too.

    Reply
  47. Seena

    July 23, 2009 at 2:56 am

    The term "chilly" goes well with everything, alle? I tried few and loved all..! looks lovely Nags! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  48. lissie

    July 22, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    I have cooked with soya chunks once or twice but didn't like it. but your dish looks so yummy! good side dish for fried rice…

    Reply
  49. Mandira

    July 22, 2009 at 1:07 pm

    love the color of the curry, fiery and spicy! Yummy πŸ™‚

    Reply
  50. Miri

    July 22, 2009 at 10:42 am

    There's something about soya chunks which really makes it a love hate issue doesnt it?!! I always soak the chunks in boiling diluted milk….makes it much softer and palatable

    the capsicum combination sounds very interesting!

    Reply
  51. TBC

    July 22, 2009 at 2:36 am

    I'm not too fond of soya chunks or granules though I always have both in my pantry.
    No matter how long I cook it, it always ends up with a rubbery texture.

    You've made it look very good here.:D

    Reply
  52. Mangala Bhat

    July 21, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    wow! new recipe to me ..Looking sooo delicious ..Thanks for the recipe dear!:)

    Reply
  53. Divya Vikram

    July 22, 2009 at 12:43 am

    Looks too good. Must have tasted great with rotis.

    Reply
  54. RedChillies

    July 21, 2009 at 11:48 am

    I am not very fond of meal maker either, but all the pictures look pretty good.

    Reply
  55. Home Cooked Oriya Food

    July 21, 2009 at 11:19 am

    looks so yum… have to try it…

    Reply
  56. Hari Chandana

    July 21, 2009 at 11:14 am

    WOW!!!!… looks soo delicious and spicy… wonderful clicks dear!!

    Reply
  57. Sudeshna

    July 21, 2009 at 11:04 am

    Same here Nags, as a kid I used to hate those meal makers. But is something different for meal makers, my mom always made it with potato and onion-garlic-ginger paste. Will try this out.

    Reply
  58. Shama Nagarajan

    July 21, 2009 at 8:07 am

    delicious recipe..nice click

    Reply
  59. Sig

    July 21, 2009 at 3:47 am

    Whenever I see your vegetarian recipes, I try to imagine it with meat πŸ™‚ This will be so good with chicken πŸ™‚

    Reply
  60. Veggie Belly

    July 21, 2009 at 3:21 am

    I love meal maker! It so yummy and easy to make! I usually usually soy granules for wet curries and soy chunks for dry curries. Love the pictures!

    Reply
  61. Varsha Vipins

    July 21, 2009 at 2:30 am

    Nice dish Nags..I used to make soya chunk dishes back in Pune when I was alone.Now that hubby dear hates it,am missing it..!

    Reply
  62. Nags

    July 21, 2009 at 9:25 am

    Thats awesome Wandering, thanks! have edited and added to the post πŸ™‚

    Reply
  63. The Wandering Minstrel

    July 21, 2009 at 8:53 am

    Nags, just a tip from my mum – soak those nuggets in a bowl of hot water, along with 3-4 spoons of milk – that takes away the raw soya taste and leaves the soya nuggets creamy and smooth πŸ™‚ n this stuff looks awesome. coming up this week on TH's plateful πŸ˜›

    Reply
  64. Sonu

    July 20, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Mouth watering! I always hesitate to buy Soya nuggets whenever I visit to Indian store. Now will buy and try it soon. πŸ™‚ Thanks to Soma & Nags. Lovely pics too.
    (sevenspice.wordpress.com)

    Reply
  65. Nags

    July 21, 2009 at 3:49 am

    Sig – Hehe.. I actually thought the same when I made this πŸ™‚

    Reply
  66. Pavithra

    July 20, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    MMmmmm I love soya chunks.. love this dish so much… perfect clicks

    Reply
  67. Parita

    July 20, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    I am not fond of soya at all, somehow i cant relate them to veggie πŸ™‚
    I love the clicks though, looks very tempting πŸ™‚

    Reply
  68. Sakshi

    July 20, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    I am just like your TH and SJ…love soya chunks and it's one of my fave 4 o'clock snack which I make really spicy…will try out urs soon…

    Reply
  69. Soma

    July 20, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    πŸ˜‰ Looks really good! any delicious bicolor picture. So glad you guys liked it & thanks for mentioning me.

    Regarding the issue about the "stink" in the first comment… It helps to boil the soy chunks with minced garlic.. i don't think I had mentioned that in my post.

    Reply
  70. chakhlere

    July 20, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    lovely!!Thats yummy!!
    I have never used soya chunks…may be will try now!!
    Grt clicks.

    Reply
  71. Sushma Mallya

    July 20, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    Gravy looks so good…I have never tried adding soya chunks in any chinese gravy….will surely try

    Reply
  72. SJ

    July 20, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    I am just like your TH I love soy chunks!! I am going to try this soon.

    Reply
  73. Ranjani

    July 20, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    Lovely pics, never been a fan of soy chunks, but it is a great way to add more protein to my diet. I've never known how long to soak it and get that briny soapy flavor out. Do you think it might be a good idea to soak the chunks in vegetable stock?

    Reply
  74. Arch

    July 20, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Nice interesting recipe..I once made a soya-peas kheema with soy flakes, turned out real nice…will put it up for you the next time I make it…

    Reply
  75. Shri

    July 20, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Lovely pics and looks delish !I have only used Soya chunks in pulao but never in a curry.

    Reply
  76. My Experiments with Cooking

    July 20, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Aww!There is one big bag of soya chunks lying in my kitchen. I once made the plain onion-tomato thing. Don't ask. It stunk so bad. I couldn't quite get that washing thing I guess. Do put up pictorial for cleaning them in hot water or whatever next time or whenever possible or mail me. My friend was suggesting I should write about my kitchen disasters too πŸ˜€ Oh by the way, did you check my blog recently?
    That second pic looks bright and really good.

    Reply
  77. RAKS KITCHEN

    July 20, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    I liked soya chunks in kurmas…Last week I tried adding in mixed veg kurma,not bad at all,the same chunks u hav shown πŸ™‚ This sounds awesome too:)

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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