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    Home » Recipes » Beef, Venison, Lamb, Pork » Chop Suey | Classic Chinese-American Recipe Like Mom Made

    Chop Suey | Classic Chinese-American Recipe Like Mom Made

    Beef, Venison, Lamb, Pork, Main Dishes/ Casseroles, Recipes, Soups and Stews

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    A delicious Chinese-American recipe that utilizes whichever meat you prefer along with bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, onions, and celery. Add more vegetables if you wish. #chopsuey, #Chinese-Americandish, #Chinesestew, #Chinesemixedvegetabledish, #Chinesesoup, #Chinesemaindish,


    Chop Suey is a delicious stew composed of bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, onions, celery, and bits of pork, chicken, or beef served with noodles. Popular in the 1950s, each mom had her own version of this cheap, familiar comfort food. This recipe is like the one my mother-in-law, Helen made.

    Chop Suey is a Chinese-American Stew with thin pasta and sprinkled with green onions on a white square plate with red salvia blossoms sprinkled around the plate and brown bamboo placemat with a tan linen placement on the side.

    The True Chop Suey History

    Exactly what does chop suey mean? In Chinese, the two characters for chop suey are “shap sui,” which means “mixed small bits or odds and ends.”

    Although nobody knows for sure, San Francisco seems to be the city that gave birth to this mixed stew.

    It was there that Chinese laborers flooded the city to take advantage of the booming economy brought on by the Gold Rush.

    Photo of Chinatown in San Francisco with the San Francisco bridge in the background. Chop Suey originated in San Francisco in the late 1900s.

    Chinese restaurants popped up everywhere.

    The legend goes that one night a group of drunken miners stumbled into a Chinese restaurant and demanded food. The tired owner trudged back into the kitchen, scraped leftover food off of the precious customers’ plates, then put the scraps onto new ones.

    He doused the jumble of meat and vegetables in soy sauce and then presented the food to the inebriated clients.

    The miners loved the dish! The following night they returned and demanded more chop suey.

    Chicken Chop Suey in a white bowl. The recipe is very adaptable to any meat and vegetable using carrots, green peppers, bean sprouts.

    Chop Suey Spreads Across the Country

    By the 1920s, the Chinese-American stew was as popular as hot dogs. The Chinese restaurants opened eateries throughout the country and adapted the stew to the tastes of non-Chinese customers.

    The dish was cheap and easy to make. In the 1950s, mothers were making this Chinese stew for their families. A big pot fed an entire family.

    Chop suey was now a hallmark of adventurous ethnic eating. Canned chop suey and packaged varieties appeared on the scene.

    Beef Chop Suey is easy an easy to make stew that can stretch the food budget.

    With the appearance of influential figures like Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne, customers began to search for authenticity in food. They wanted dishes like Gnocchi in Brodo and Pugliese Bread.

    So in the 1960s, the so-called Chinese dish lost favor for unique dishes such as Peking duck and potstickers.

    Today if you go into a Chinese restaurant you’ll see dishes such as Kung Pao shrimp or chicken with broccoli, hot and sour soup. You won’t find “shap sui” on the menu.

    Close up of Chop Suey a Chinese-American stew in a white square plate with bamboo chop sticks and green onions garnishing the dish with red salvia blossoms on placemat and dish.

    Chop Suey Revisited

    One of the problems of the old Chinese-American stew was that everything was overcooked.

    The vegetables were mushy and the liquid sometimes gelatinous. But that does not have to be the case.

    Chop Suey ingredients in bowls for Pork Chop Suey including pork chunks, celery slices, mushroom, onion, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, soy sauce.

    I remember the first time I had chop suey.

    Helen, my mother-in-law, had to cook dinner early because it was her turn to host Bunko and a group of ladies was descending on the house.

    Everyone had to eat early and leave the ladies to their game.

    Close up of a plate of Chop Suey in a white square china plate with chop sticks and red salvia blossoms.

    This recipe is very tasty. Instead of using leftovers, like they did years ago, we use fresh ingredients.

    Add the type of veggies you love. You can’t go wrong. Give it a try, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed!

    Tutti a tavola è pronto!

    Collage of Chop Suey a Chinese-American dish that is versatile and budget-friendly. A tasty stew that was very popular in the mid-20th century. It's comfort food from the past.

    Un caro saluto e alla prossima.


     
    Chop Suey is a Chinese-American stew that gained popularity in the mid-20th century. It's delicious and great for extending the food budget.

    Chop Suey | Traditional Chinese-American Recipe Like Mom Made

    A delicious Chinese-American recipe that utilizes pork, beef or chicken along with bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, onions, and celery. Add more vegetables if you wish.
    4.39 from 99 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: budget-saving, easy, hearty dish, lunch, Stew
    Cuisine: Asian flavor, Chinese-American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 284kcal
    Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
    As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Ingredients

    • 19 oz. cubed pork tenderloin
    • 3 Tablespoons olive oil divided
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • 1 cup celery sliced in 1/4-inch diagonal
    • 1 can 16 oz. bean sprouts, drained
    • 1 can 8 oz. sliced water chestnuts, drained
    • 1 can 8 oz. bamboo shoots, drained
    • 8 oz. fresh baby Bella mushrooms sliced
    • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes use more or less according to your taste
    • 1/2 cup chicken broth
    • 1/2 cup soy sauce
    • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
    • 4 Tablespoons water
    • 4 oz. Canton noodles cooked according to directions. Set aside.

    Instructions

    • Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat and add the pork cubes. Cook, stirring, until the pork begins to brown, 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the skillet and set aside.
    • Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the onion, celery, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms release some of their liquid about another 3 minutes.
    • Stir in the bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and chicken broth. Let it come to a simmer. Add the meat back in with the soy sauce and cover the skillet. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
    • In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the cold water with the cornstarch. Stir the slurry into the skillet mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
    • Add the canton noodles to the shop suey and stir until thoroughly combined.
    • Serve the chop suey with chopped cilantro, green onions, or sesame seed

    Notes

    This is virtually a basic recipe you can add as many vegetables as you want. The meat is up to you. Pork chop suey, beef chop suey, or chicken chop suey are all delicious. 
    You may also use shrimp or duck for your chop suey.
    Make it vegetarian by using firm tofu. The tofu will absorb the flavors of the sauce. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 1252mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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