Chop Suey

Today we’ve got a recipe for you that harkens back to the early days of Chinese immigration to the United States: Chop Suey. Chinese food in America has evolved much since then, to the point where chop suey itself sounds like an outdated term. But that doesn’t make it any less tasty!

Note: This recipe was originally published on March 26, 2020. It has since been updated with clearer photos, metric measurements, and nutrition information. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!

What Is Chop Suey?

Chop Suey (杂碎, zásuì in Mandarin or zaap sui in Cantonese) refers to “odds and ends” or miscellaneous leftovers. It’s a dish combining all those odds and ends into a stir-fry of meat and vegetables, coated in a tasty sauce. 

Today we might call chop suey a fridge clean-out dish. You could add the last few carrots or mushrooms in the fridge, some celery, half a bell pepper, and a protein, like chicken breast or leftover rotisserie chicken, and voila! You have a chicken chop suey! 

The Origins of Chop Suey

There are many stories about the origins of chop suey. Some say it was brought over by Chinese immigrants from Taishan, a city in Guangdong Province and home to many of the first overseas Chinese in the United States. 

Others say Chinese chefs adapted the dish for Westerners using familiar local ingredients (celery, carrots, button mushrooms) along with some bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and bean sprouts to make it more “Chinese.”

Whatever the story, chop suey became the signature dish for many Chinese restaurants, as you can tell by the “Chop Suey” restaurant signs dotting the photo below of San Francisco’s Chinatown:

Like the once famous Chicken Chow Mein, made with shredded chicken, onions, celery, cabbage, bean sprouts and deep fried noodles, Chop Suey was also the product of the early evolution of Chinese food in the U.S.

Substitutions

Because the meaning of the dish is “odds and ends,” feel free to use whatever ingredients you have available. 

We’re using chicken here, but you can use sliced tofu instead, and you have a vegetable chop suey. Slice up some beef or a leftover piece of rare steak, and you have a beef chop suey. Use some leftover char siu, and pork chop suey is what’s on the menu! 

You get the idea now. Whatever variety of classic chop suey ends up on your table depends on what you find in your refrigerator that night. Rest assured that you can use this recipe as a guide to make whatever version you like for your family!

Chicken Chop Suey: Recipe Instructions

Combine the sliced chicken with water, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the chicken until it absorbs all the liquid. Next, mix in 1 teaspoon oil and 2 teaspoons cornstarch until the chicken is uniformly coated. Set aside. 

For a complete guide on how to prepare chicken for stir-fry using this Chinese velveting method, see our detailed post on How to Velvet Chicken.

In a small bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients, and set aside. 

 Heat your wok over high heat until lightly smoking, and pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil around the perimeter. (Heating the wok this way is key to Judy’s method of non-stick wok cooking.) Spread the chicken in a single layer. 

Sear for a few seconds, and then stir-fry the chicken for another 15 seconds, or until it is lightly golden brown and opaque. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. (It should be about 80% cooked at this point.)

Turn heat back up to high, and add an additional tablespoon of oil along with the chopped garlic.

Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the mushrooms, carrots, and celery.

Stir fry for 20 seconds and add the bok choy. 

Give everything a good stir and spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok to deglaze it.  

Next, stir up your prepared chop suey sauce and spread that around the perimeter to further deglaze the wok. Use your wok spatula to give everything a quick stir.  

Once the sauce begins to simmer, add in your bean sprouts and snow peas. Also add the chicken back to the wok.  

When the sauce gets to a strong simmer or boil, mix up your cornstarch slurry. Drizzle it into the sauce, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a consistency you like. Add more cornstarch slurry mix if you like the sauce thicker.  For more details on cooking with cornstarch, see our post on how to use cornstarch in Chinese cooking.

Cook for another 10 seconds to ensure everything is coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with steamed rice!