Chop Suey – a saucy chicken stir fry loaded with tender pieces of chicken, vegetables and smothered in Chinese brown sauce just like you get at the best Chinese restaurants! Use any vegetables you want in this quick and easy stir fry.

This recipe also shares two little known Chinese restaurant secrets so you can make a stir fry that genuinely is as good as your favourite take out!

Chop Suey – Chicken Stir Fry

Chop Suey is just a slightly westernised version of a classic, basic Chinese stir fry. Because of this, there really aren’t hard and fast rules about what goes in it, but the general characteristic is that the sauce is a fairly light brown colour, there is plenty of it (and you know I love my sauce!!) and it’s pretty thick so it clings to your rice or noodles.

How to make a Chop Suey that’s REALLY restaurant quality

If you’ve ever wondered why your stir fries aren’t quite as tasty as what you get from (good) Chinese restaurants, here are the two things you’ve probably been missing:

Secret 1 – Chinese Cooking Wine

Chinese cooking wine (or Shaoxing Wine) is the secret ingredient in almost every Chinese recipe that’s used by the gallon in Chinese restaurants around the world! It adds depth and complexity of flavour into even the most simple sauces with just a small amount. Read more about it here, including why it’s so important, the difference it makes in recipes and the best substitutes.

Best substitutes for Chinese Cooking Wine – Mirin or dry sherry.

Best non alcoholic substitute for Chop Suey is to use chicken broth (liquid chicken stock) in place of water in the sauce.

Secret 2 – Tenderised Chicken

Have you noticed that the chicken in Chinese restaurants is incredibly soft and almost “velvety”? It’s because restaurants “velvet” the chicken (that’s the term that is used).

There are a few ways to do this, but I like using a simple method where the chicken is coated in a small amount of baking soda (bi-carb), left for 20 minutes to tenderise, then rinsed before cooking in the stir fry. It’s the easiest and least effort for home cooking – and 100% effect.

Velveting is optional if using chicken thighs because it’s a juicy cut. But if you are using chicken breast or tenderloins and you choose to tenderise it, you are going to be amazed how juicy and tender the chicken is.

Read more about this – Velveting: Chinese Restaurant Way to Tenderise Chicken.

What goes in Chop Suey

I’ve make Chop Suey with ingredients that are commonly used by Chinese restaurants – Asian greens (Choi Sum), bean sprouts, carrots and mushrooms. But feel free to use whatever vegetables you want!

How to make Chop Suey

Chop Suey is a 5 minute stir fry that starts off by sautéing garlic and onion before adding vegetables in the order in which they cook. Vegetables that take longer to cook go in first, and more delicate vegetables (like leafy greens) go in last.

Then the sauce is added, simmered for just a minute or two so it thickens, then served immediately over rice to soak up all that tasty sauce!

What to serve with Chop Suey

With all that tasty sauce, Chop Suey demands to be served with rice! Though if you’re looking for a low carb option, cauliflower rice is a terrific alternative.

If you’re making this as part of a larger banquet or you want to make a menu to serve 4+ people, try adding some of these other dishes to your menu: