Chop Suey

Chop Suey is a quick and easy stir-fry perfect for busy weeknights. With chicken, quail eggs, tender-crisp vegetables, and flavorful sauce, it’s nutritious as it is delicious!

Want a quick and easy meal that’s as tasty as healthy? Chop Suey needs to be on your regular meal rotation!

• It tastes as good as it looks! This vegetable dish is a festive and delicious addition to family dinners or special occasions.
• It’s packed with vitamins and minerals for a healthy and nutritious meal you’ll feel good serving the whole family.
• It’s quick and easy to make in under an hour.
• It’s economical with simple, budget-friendly ingredients.

What is Chop Suey

Chop Suey, which means “assorted pieces,” is a stir-fry dish popular in Chinese cooking. It traditionally includes bite-sized meat and assorted vegetable flash-cooked in a starch-thickened sauce.

Ingredient notes

The beauty of this recipe is you can use whatever vegetables and protein you have on hand. Check out the suggestion list below and pick your favorite combination!

• Vegetables-broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, baby corn, chayote, snow peas, bok choy, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, bean sprouts, bell peppers are great options to use
• Protein– chicken, pork, beef,  shrimp, fish cakes/fish balls, kikiam, scallops, liver, gizzards, quail eggs, and fried tofu like in this chop suey with shiitake mushroom recipe.
• Sauce– use reserve liquid from poaching the vegetables. Flavor with oyster sauce and thicken with cornstarch.

Chop suey cooking process

1. Blanch vegetables in salted boiling water until tender-crisp and submerge in a bowl of iced water until completely cool. Drain well lest the excess liquid will thin out the sauce. Reserve 2 cups of the poaching liquid (the one used to blanch vegetables).
2. Fry liver a wide pan over medium heat until lightly browned but not fully cooked. Remove and keep warm. Saute onions and garlic in the pan until softened. Add chicken and cook, stirring regularly, until color changes.
3. In a bowl, combine the reserved poaching liquid and oyster sauce. Add to the pan and bring to a boil.
4. Cook, skimming scum that may float on top, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add the liver and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add parboiled vegetables, baby corn, and quail eggs and cook until heated through.
5. In a bowl, combine ¼ cup of cold water and corn starch and stir until corn starch is dissolved. Add mixture to the pan, stirring gently. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
6.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

How to serve and store

• Chop suey is traditionally served for lunch or dinner and enjoyed with steamed rice, grilled pork belly, or fried fish.
• Cool leftovers completely and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. The dish doesn’t freeze well, as frozen and thawed vegetables turn mushy.
• Reheat in a wide pan over medium heat to 165 F.

More vegetable recipes? Make this crispy pinakbet; it’s a favorite at our house. Or try this flavor and nutrient-packed laswa.