Chop suey is a Chinese-American classic with a slightly mysterious past: a quick stir-fry of meat and vegetables in a light, glossy sauce, served over rice or crispy noodles. August 29 celebrates a dish that was once the height of American dining out.
A dish born between two countries
Chop suey means roughly odds and ends in Cantonese, and that is a good description of the dish: whatever vegetables and meat are on hand, stir-fried together in a savory sauce. It became wildly popular in American Chinese restaurants in the late 1800s and early 1900s, to the point where chop suey joints were everywhere and the dish stood in, for many Americans, for Chinese food itself.
Its exact origin is debated and probably unknowable, wrapped in colorful stories that may or may not be true. What is clear is that it is a genuine Chinese-American creation, shaped by immigrant cooks working with local ingredients.
The stir-fry mindset
The beauty of chop suey is that it is less a fixed recipe than a technique. Get your pan screaming hot, cook fast, and keep things moving. Prep everything before you turn on the heat, because once the wok is hot there is no time to chop.
Common players are celery, onion, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, with chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp. A light sauce of stock, soy, and a little oyster sauce, thickened with cornstarch, ties it together into that familiar glossy finish.
Make it your own tonight
This is the ultimate clean-out-the-crisper dinner, which makes it perfect for a weeknight. Slice a protein and whatever firm vegetables you have, get a wok or wide pan very hot, and cook the meat first, then the vegetables, then the sauce. Add the crunchier vegetables last so they keep their snap.
Serve over steamed rice, or over pan-fried noodles if you want the crispy chow-mein-style version. Finish with a drizzle of sesame oil and a scatter of scallions.
Honor the history
Chop suey has fallen out of fashion compared to flashier dishes, but it is worth celebrating on its own terms. If you have an old-school Chinese-American restaurant in your town, the kind with the classic menu and the vinyl booths, today is a lovely day to go, order chop suey, and appreciate a dish that fed generations. These long-running family spots are getting rarer, and giving one your business is a small, tasty way to keep a piece of history alive.
How to celebrate
- 1Prep everything before the heat
Stir-frying is fast and unforgiving, so chop all your vegetables and slice your protein before the pan is hot. Once the wok is screaming, there is no time to prep; everything should be within arm's reach and ready to go.
- 2Get the pan really hot
Chop suey lives and dies by high heat. Get your wok or widest skillet as hot as it will go, cook in the right order (protein first, then vegetables, then sauce), and keep everything moving so it sears instead of steams.
- 3Add crunchy vegetables last
Water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and celery are all about texture, so add them near the end to keep their snap. Overcooked, they go limp and lose the point. The contrast of crisp vegetables and tender meat is what makes the dish.
- 4Thicken the sauce lightly
A light sauce of stock, soy, and a little oyster sauce, thickened with a cornstarch slurry, gives chop suey its signature glossy finish. Add the slurry gradually; you want a light coating, not a gluey blanket.
- 5Support an old-school spot
Classic Chinese-American restaurants, the kind with vinyl booths and a long laminated menu, are getting rarer. If your town still has one, today is a lovely day to go, order chop suey, and give a long-running family business your support.