American Chop Suey
A Chinese Takeout Twist
Chop Suey is a dish from American Chinese Cuisine. This version has two kinds of meat. Both pork and beef. This recipe is my Mom’s and she has made it for years. I have the recipe below written exactly how my Mom wrote it. This recipe freezes well and is classic American Comfort Food.
I never liked this as a child and would dread when my Mom would make it for dinner. As an adult, it is still not my favorite, but the nostalgia of it does hit the spot once in awhile. Recently, my best friend was coming up to our lake house to visit us and I shared a story with my Mom that my best friend had shared with me about her Grandma, who also made this chop suey. My friend calls this Polish Chop Suey. This apparently a classic recipe here in Chicago and the Chicagoland area that many people made since the 1960’s. My Mom was excited to make this recipe for my best friend and actually have someone enjoy it as much as her.
Mom made this on our trip up last week and I have to admit, it was quite delicious, especially on cold Winter days. We enjoyed this for quite a few days. To me, it tastes better as it sits a few days. Mom wrote the recipe up for everyone, and I share it below on a recipe card.
La Choy and Bead Molasses
La Choy is the brand of choice for all of the vegetables in this particular recipe. I see this brand at every single grocery store I have ever been in. They also make water chestnuts and they also make a whole can of Chop Suey Vegetables. My Mom also sometimes serves this recipe with crunchy noodles on top as well. The Secret Ingredient is the Bead Molasses which is pictured below. You can also find this in almost any Asian Food Aisle at any grocery.
American Chop Suey
Chop Suey is a dish from American Chinese Cuisine. This version has two kinds of meat. Both pork and beef. This recipe is my Mom's and she has made it for years. I have the recipe below written exactly how my Mom wrote it. This recipe freezes well and is classic American Comfort Food.
Ingredients
- *See the recipe below with exact word for word instructions and ingredients from my Mom.
- 2 lbs of beef chuck roast
- 2lbs pork shoulder or cut up pork steak
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 Large Green Pepper
- 1 Cup of Thinly Sliced Celery
- 1 lb of mushrooms sliced
- 1 to 2 cans sliced or whole water chestnuts. Don't drain.
- I or 2 cans sliced bamboo shoots.
- I large or 2 smaller cans bean sprouts. Or equivalent of fresh.
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1 tbls sesame oil
- 1/4 cup of Chinese bead molasses. (pictured in post) Or to taste but the molasses is important.
Instructions
You can use any combination of beef and pork. Usually chuck roast and pork shoulder. It holds up to a long simmer and gets very tender.
2lbs beef chuck roast
2lbs pork shoulder or cut up pork steak
Cut into 1 inch cubes. Coat these in flour and shake off the excess flour.
Put 2 or 3 tbls of oil into a soup pot and brown the meat. Then remove it from the pan and set aside.
Chop 1 large onion into dice
Chop 1 large green pepper into dice
1 cup of thinly sliced Celery
1 lb of mushrooms sliced
1 to 2 cans sliced or whole water chestnuts. Don't drain.
I or 2 cans sliced bamboo shoots.
I large or 2 smaller cans bean sprouts. Or equivalent of fresh.
Saute the Celery, onions and green peppers until medium soft.
Add the mushrooms for a bit then add the beef and pork back into the pot.
Drain the liquid into the pot from the canned Chinese vegetables.
Season with garlic powder or fresh garlic.
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tbls sesame oil
1/4 cup of Chinese bead molasses. Or to taste but the molasses is important.
Let all this simmer until the meat is tender. I'd say an hour or so on low heat. Meat should be fork tender.
Add in the canned vegetables and let heat through.
If the gravy is thin make a slurry of cornstarch and cold water in the empty can or a cup. Usually 2 to 3 tbls of corn starch to a cup of cold water. Stir to prevent lumps. Stir in 1/4 cup at a time and let it heat through before adding more because it will thicken as it boils.
Add more seasoning to taste. Serve over hot rice.
My perfect rice is a
1 cup rice to 2 cups water ratio.
Stir uncovered until it's simmering. Cover and turn down to the lowest heat. Leave it alone until the water is completely absorbed. Fluff with a fork and let it sit off heat for 5 minutes or so.
If you are going to serve the chop suey the next day the gravy might thin out overnight. So make sure to heat it up high enough for it to thicken again or add some more corn starch water mixture a litte at a time.
Voila
2 Comments
Monica Seiler
January 9, 2024 at 1:51 pm
Hello, April, Growing up in a family with 5 siblings, this was a very special meal for us kids. The La Choy cans were expensive back in the day so the dish had to stretch very thin. My brothers would fight over having seconds and sadly, being the youngest and the girl, I didn’t get any! LOL. Brings back great memories. Tell your mom thank you and thank you for sharing with us! :))
Denise Heinsohn
January 9, 2024 at 5:18 pm
This is it!! (Well, except for the green pepper). Grew up in Lake County IL and this is how my Mom made Chop Suey. After I married, I made it all the time. But, a move to Las Vegas in 1989 began the demise of Chop Suey as I knew it. Apparently, west of the Mississippi River people don’t have a clue what Bead Molasses is. For a couple of years, I would stock up on a trip home and bring it back (not the easiest thing to safely transport). I haven’t been back now since 2004 and finally decided I’d have to learn to live without the beloved Chop Suey. When I saw your FB post this morning promising the recipe, my first thought was whether Bead Molasses would be involved. Been a while since I checked on Amazon, but I may decide to take a chance on ordering it – and hope it doesn’t arrive broken. The other favorite I have to live without in Nevada is Aunt Nellie’s Harvard Beets…have ordered those from Amazon a few times and every time they arrive with at least one broken jar. Not sure which is worse…a package containing broken Bead Molasses, or broken Harvard Beets! But sincerely, thank you (and your mother) for posting this. I may just get really brave and take a chance on the Amazon order.