The Chop Suey (Chopsuey) is the perfect dish to make if you have a lot of ingredients stored and you want to cook them right away! It is also good for special occasions, as this gives a festive feel every time you eat one.
Read this recipe article to learn how to make the best chop suey for you and for your loved ones. Also included here are some tips and some trivia about the chop suey, so making sure to read them!
What is Chop Suey?
Chop Suey is a popular stir-fried vegetable dish which is usually cooked with various meats, with common ones being chicken and pork. Shrimp and other types of seafood are also added most of the time.
The chop suey recipe listed here is the all-around type because of this includes shrimp, pork, and chicken, along with a mix of veggies. There are also young corn and quail eggs present, so you’re sure to have a fiesta kind of feeling in every bite.
You’d often see Chopsuey and Pinakbet as vegetable viands in most Filipino restaurants.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Vegetables
We will be using a variety of different vibrant vegetables for this dish like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and corn.
Meat
We will also use several types of meats like quail eggs, shrimps, pork, and chicken.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like garlic, onion, oyster sauce, cornstarch, salt, black pepper, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pan (Kawali)- Chop suey is a one-pan dish and we will be using a regular Filipino kawali in the whole cooking process. A substitute to kawali would be any wok, deep cooking skillet or a shallow cooking pot or casserole.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Cook Chop Suey
The very first step you need to do is to fry the shrimp. This is very simple, and will help with the rest of the ingredients since it will be easier to manage. It will be done once all of the sides of the shrimp have already changed in color. You can set this aside now, just add it back in once the whole dish is done.
The next step is to saute the garlic and onions. I’m sure that most of you know that this is quite a staple thing to do in many Filipino dishes.
Then add in the meats, and cook them until they are light brown in color. Add in the coconut juice and other seasonings, and let it boil and cook the meats until they are tender and chewy.
After that, all that’s left to cook are the vegetables, just make sure not to overcook them as they easily get burnt so keep an eye on them while cooking.
Cooking Tips
- One thing you can do to maintain the vibrant colors and the crisp feeling of the vegetables when eaten, is to parboil them first. It is not included in the recipe instructions but it is optional and can help with the overall dish.
- Parboiling and then blanching in boiling salted water helps maintain the vegetables when cooked with the other ingredients.
- Make sure that you’re using a wok or large skillet that is enough to accommodate all of our chop suey ingredients. When the pan gets crowded while cooking, some of the ingredients may result in them not being cooked enough and it will make them soggy.
Other Chop Suey Options
If you want to be more specific with some of the ingredients instead of putting them all together in one dish, you can try these other versions of the chopsuey!
Veggie Chop Suey
If you have a lot of leftover vegetables stored in your kitchen that needs to be cooked, then you can opt to make a veggie chop suey. This is also good if you’re avoiding meat, as this is very delicious, too.
The most common vegetables used in a chop suey dish are cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, bell pepper, young corn, beans, bean sprouts, and even mushrooms.
Meaty Chop Suey
With this one, you don’t need to add any kind of seafood or other ingredients, just plain old meat. There are a lot of meat options that you can choose from. Pork, beef, and chicken being the most popular ones here in the country.
The ones here in the Philippines are usually made out of pork belly, or even chicken liver, chicken heart, and gizzard.
Seafood Chop Suey
If you want seafood galore on the other hand, there are several options you can also choose to make the perfect seafood chop suey. The most popular ones you can add here are shrimp, prawns, mussels, squid and scallops.
This version can also be on the meaty side, you can also add in any fish of your choice, like salmon, milkfish, among others.
How to Serve Chop Suey
Chop suey is best served warm during lunch or dinner. It is already main course and is usually served with freshly cooked white rice. But you can serve this with another fried or grilled dish and a cool drink like soda or iced tea.
How to Store and Reheat Chop Suey
In case you have leftovers, transfer to a clean food container with lid. You can refrigerate this to extend the shelf life to 3 days. To reheat, you can either use a microwave oven or over a stove. Apply low-medium heat when reheating over a stove.
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Special Chop Suey Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 cup broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 pc medium-sized carrot, cut diagonally
- 1 pc small-sized red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 pc small-sized green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 5 pcs young corn, cut into half
- 8 pcs quail eggs, hard-boiled
- 6 pcs shrimps
- 1 cup pork belly, cut into thin strips
- 1 cup chicken fillet, cut into thin strips
- 1 pc medium-sized onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch, diluted in ½ cup water
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a wok or large skillet, pour-in and heat oil over medium heat.
- Add-in the shrimp. Cook for 1 minute on all sides then set aside.
- Add-in the garlic and onions. Saute until soft and aromatic.
- Add-in the pork belly and the chicken fillet. Cook until lightly browned.
- Pour-in the oyster sauce and then pour-in the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- Add-in the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add-in the cabbage, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and young corn. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add-in the quail eggs, and pour-in the diluted cornstarch. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well-incorporated and until the sauce thickens.
- Add back in the shrimp and transfer to a serving plate or serving tray. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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