Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (2024)

Chop suey, also known as chop sui, is a simple, flavorful, and colorful dish with a light gravy-like sauce. The dish is a smart and wonderful way to use any leftover fresh vegetables from previous recipes to make a whole new dinner. Steam a pot of rice while you stir fry and dinner is served in 20 minutes flat.

Even though this recipe has a long list of ingredients, don’t be intimidated. These are some suggested ingredients for inspiration—they add a pop of color and build layers of flavor, but you can customize this recipe to fit your taste and local availability.

Chop suey is a quick and easy dish. The stir-fry is usually served with rice and I love drizzling a bit more gravy over top and watching the pearly-white jasmine rice soak up all the flavors.

What Is Chop Suey?

Chop suey is a beloved Chinese American dish that originated in the late 1800s when Chinese immigrants came to the United States to work on the transcontinental railroad. With the introduction of Chinese culinary techniques and flavors to the United States, Chinese food gained popularity, and chop suey became a favorite American dish. As Chinese immigrants have opened Chinese American restaurants across the United States, chop suey has evolved. This recipe is one of many variations.

The name "chop suey" means "miscellaneous pieces," referencing the variety of ingredients used. The dish is designed to use any available ingredients to prevent waste. While there are many variations of chop suey, the dish typically consists of one type of protein (usually either chicken or pork) with an assortment of stir-fried vegetables and a gravy-like sauce.

Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (1)

Easy Variations on Chop Suey

Chop suey is a versatile dish that can be made with a variety of vegetables and proteins. Substitute ingredients based on what you have available in your fridge or at local markets. Some good options for vegetables include broccoli florets, snow or snap peas, string beans, carrots, bell pepper, baby corn, and celery. For protein, try using strips of pork instead of chicken thighs.

For denser vegetables, cut them into smaller or thinner pieces, or cook them earlier in the process to ensure everything is cooked properly. For example, hardy vegetables such as carrots would take more time to cook than snow peas, but if the carrots are cut into thin coins or matchsticks, the two veggies will cook in a similar amount of time.

When preparing protein, I would recommend cutting it into small pieces or strips—between 1 and 1 1/2 inches—to allow for proper cooking. The increase in surface area will also allow the seasonings and sauces to better infuse their flavors.

Adjusting the Sauce

For this recipe, the sauce consistency is just enough to coat all the vegetables without being too saucy. The cornstarch slurry (a small amount of cornstarch mixed with a small amount of water) thickens the gravy.

Depending on your personal preference, adjust the amount of chicken broth and cornstarch slurry. For a saucier dish, add another 1/4 cup of chicken broth to the sauce and an additional teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon of water to the slurry.

Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (2)

Chinese American Favorites

  • Egg Foo Young
  • Chinese Orange Chicken
  • Hot and Sour Soup
  • Moo Goo Gai Pan
  • Quick and Easy Egg Drop Soup

Chop Suey

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings3to 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

  • 1/2 medium white onion, chopped

  • 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch coins

  • 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

  • 8 to 10 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed

  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 2 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 4 ounces snow peas, trimmed

  • 2 green onions, sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces

  • 3 ounces mung bean sprouts

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons water, to dissolve cornstarch

  • Salt, to taste

  • 3 cups steamed rice, for serving

Method

  1. Cook the chicken:

    Add the oil to a wok or a large, deep non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Heat the oil just until it starts to smoke, about 1 minute.

    Add the chicken thighs. Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (3)

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (4)

  2. Add the onion, carrots, and seasonings:

    Add the onion, carrots, chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir fry over high heat for 5 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling.

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (5)

  3. Add the mushrooms, pepper, and celery:

    Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and celery. Stir fry until the celery has softened to crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (6)

  4. Add the peas, green onions, and bean sprouts:

    Add the peas, green onions, and bean sprouts. Stir fry until well-mixed and heated through, about 2 minutes.

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (7)

  5. Thicken the sauce:

    Add the cornstarch and water to a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Add the cornstarch slurry to the pan and stir fry until the sauce has thickened to your liking, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add salt, if needed. Serve with rice.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a review below!

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (8)

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (9)

    Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (10)

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
353Calories
19g Fat
18g Carbs
32g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3to 4
Amount per serving
Calories353
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g24%
Saturated Fat 4g18%
Cholesterol 138mg46%
Sodium 864mg38%
Total Carbohydrate 18g7%
Dietary Fiber 4g16%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 32g
Vitamin C 69mg346%
Calcium 63mg5%
Iron 3mg15%
Potassium 807mg17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner (2024)

FAQs

Chop Suey Is a Quick and Flavorful Stir Fry That’s a One-Dish Dinner? ›

Chop suey, also known as chop sui, is a simple, flavorful, and colorful dish with a light gravy-like sauce. The dish is a smart and wonderful way to use any leftover fresh vegetables from previous recipes to make a whole new dinner. Steam a pot of rice while you stir fry and dinner is served in 20 minutes flat.

What's the difference between stir fry and chop suey? ›

When stir-frying, ingredients are cooked in oils in a wok over high heat, stirring constantly. It is a quick cooking method, perfect for a busy household or a bustling restaurant. The chop suey is finished in a sauce, then served over rice or noodles.

What is chop suey? ›

Chop suey (usually pronounced /ˈtʃɒpˈsuːi/) is a dish from American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, generally consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery, and bound in a starch-thickened ...

What makes chop suey so good? ›

Aromatics - Together with the seasonings, the garlic and ginger in this recipe give Chop Suey its flavor. Vegetables - I've added about 500 grams (a little over a pound) of vegetables to my Chop Suey. There are 70 grams of each vegetable, except for the cabbage in this recipe.

What do you eat chop suey with? ›

Chop Suey will usually contain some kind of meat, whether this is beef, pork, chicken or seafood, an assortment of veggies, sometimes an egg and a thick sauce. This is then served with either noodles or rice, although rice is a more common and popular pairing.

Why is chop suey food so popular? ›

Chop suey rose from obscurity in the late nineteenth century to become one of America's national dishes and one of the main ingredients in the spread of Chinese restaurants in North America during the years when Chinese families and entrepreneurs spread Chinese cookery outside China by adapting to new conditions and ...

Does chop suey mean leftovers? ›

The most likely story: according to anthropologist E.N. Anderson, Chinese American restaurateurs based their chop suey recipes on tsap seui, a Cantonese dish that translates to "miscellaneous leftovers."

Why do they call it chop suey? ›

According to Odadjian, the song title is a wordplay: "Suey" is "suicide", "chopped" in half. Most pressings of the album include an intro to the track where the singer, Serj Tankian, can faintly be heard saying "we're rolling 'Suicide'" while the drummer, John Dolmayan, is counting the band in.

How healthy is chop suey? ›

Chop suey is another stir-fry dish made from meat, eggs, and thinly sliced vegetables in a light sauce. It's often made with pork, although some varieties may contain chicken, beef, or tofu. Like other stir-fries, it's a healthier choice because it's made from a protein source and vegetables.

What is American chop suey called? ›

American chop suey is an American pasta casserole made with ground beef, macaroni and a seasoned tomato sauce, found in the cuisine of New England and other regions of the United States. Outside New England it is sometimes called American goulash or Johnny Marzetti, among other names.

What was in the original chop suey? ›

Chop suey likely originated as essentially a dish of leftovers (much like Italian minestrone), made of vegetables, cuttings from meat used in a previous meal (usually pork or chicken but sometimes beef), and miscellaneous items such as bean sprouts and canned water chestnuts.

What does chop suey mean in slang? ›

Using the power of Twitter, I found some examples of people saying "chop chop suey suey" (sometimes with more "chop" or less "suey") to mean "hurry up".

Does chop suey taste good? ›

At its core, chop suey is a glorious meat and vegetable stir fry with American ingredients. Chop suey is a stir fry of too many vegetables (some canned), a not-quite-authentic Chinese stir fry sauce, way more meat than they'd ever use in China, and way more delicious than it has any right to be.

What is traditionally in chop suey? ›

Why you can prepare chop suey with many different ingredients, it traditionally features some kind of meat, eggs, and leafy or green vegetable like cabbage and bean sprouts. It is served in a thick sauce over rice, but you can also turn it into a dish like chow mein dish by serving it over stir-fried noodles instead.

What is chop suey sauce made of? ›

Chop suey sauce is made of soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, white pepper, and water.

What dish is similar to chop suey? ›

Chow mein and chop suey are both Chinese stir-fry dishes often found on restaurant and take-out menus. The two may seem similar, but the ingredients, preparation, and origins are different.

What's the difference between chow mein and stir-fry? ›

Chow is the Cantonese term for stir-fry, and mein means noodle. Therefore, chow mein means stir-fried noodles. Wheat noodles are semi-cooked on a wok first with hot water, and then tossed over a high heat with the accompanying ingredients.

Is chop suey a healthy choice? ›

Chop suey

It's often made with pork, although some varieties may contain chicken, beef, or tofu. Like other stir-fries, it's a healthier choice because it's made from a protein source and vegetables. One cup (220 grams) of pork chop suey with no noodles contains 216 calories and provides 23 grams of protein.

What is another name for beef chop suey? ›

American chop suey is an American pasta casserole made with ground beef, macaroni and a seasoned tomato sauce, found in the cuisine of New England and other regions of the United States. Outside New England it is sometimes called American goulash or Johnny Marzetti, among other names.

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