Recipe for Chop Suey

To commemorate the new layout of our blog, and the creation of some new categories, you’ll notice a new menu item labelled “Chop Suey“.  Which is a catchall for all other articles that didn’t quite fit nicely in to any of our other categories.  If you hover your mouse over “Chop Suey” the menu will open up displaying all the sub-categories within “Chop Suey“.  One of those is “Recipes“.  So what better way to get the ball rolling (egg roll-ing??) is by posting a recipe for Chop Suey.

Chop Suey is a Cantonese name for a dish that has various kinds of chopped vegetables and meat mixed together.  In Mandarin it’s Za Sui.

Ingredients:

1. Meat:  (Optional – Adding meat will add some rich flavor.  Or, skip the meat if you’re vegetarian)

• Pork — 1 pound. But you can use any kind of meat really.  Explore with chicken or beef too.  Or even seafood like shrimp

2. Marinade:

• Soy sauce — 1 teaspoon
• Oyster sauce — 1 – 2 teaspoons
• Salt — 1 teaspoon
• Pepper — optional, amount to taste
• Cornstarch — 1 teaspoon

3. Sauce: (Optional)

• Chicken broth — 4 tablespoons
• Oyster sauce — 2 teaspoons
• Cornstarch — 1 teaspoon

4. Other:  (Be creative!  Choose whatever vegetables you like so long as they’re not very leafy)

• Bok choy, broccoli, snow pea, or/and bean sprout… — 1/2 pound
• Bamboo shoots — 1/2 cup if you have some, rinsed
• Fresh mushrooms — 1/2 pound, pat dry with a paper towel after washing them
• Water chestnuts — 1/2 cup if you have them, as fresh as possible
• Green pepper — 1
• Celery — 2 stalks
• Onion — 1
• Oil for stir-frying

Instructions:

Step 1:

• Cut the pork (or other “meat” as noted above) into thin strips.  Put the pork into a bowl with the marinade for about 10 – 15 minutes.  Add the cornstarch last right before you cook it.
• Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside.
• Meanwhile prepare vegetables.  Cut them into small pieces (Diagonal cuts will make the shapes more fun!)

Step 2:

• Heat wok and add oil on high, adding the cornstarch to the marinated pork (or other “meat”).  When the oil is hot, add the pork.  Stir-fry pork until redness is gone.  Remove and set aside.
• Reheat wok and add more oil.  When the oil is ready, put in the vegetables.  Stir-fry.  Add the chicken broth, or water if you like your vegetables to be soft;  otherwise add salt as desired.
• Make a “well” in the center of the wok and add the sauce or just oyster sauce.  Heat it and stir fry with the vegetables.  Then add in the pork and mix well.  Serve hot.

Tip: You can make Chop Suey by using different kinds of vegetables according to their colors.  You’ll have a simple way to balance the nutrition if you have different colors in you plate.  Besides, it’s good looking!

Oh, by the way, here is the popular standard for a good Chinese dish:  “It smells good, looks good, and tastes good.”  Words to live by!!

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum (“Chop!  Chop!”)