The Origins of Chop Suey

As one of the most renowned dishes in Chinese-American cuisine, the origins of Chop Suey are greatly contested, with many food historians and chefs fighting over who first combined the ingredients into the dish we now know and love. Becoming something of a culinary myth, we take a look at some of the origin stories for the dish.

What is Chop Suey?

Literally meaning ‘odds and ends’, Chop Suey is a dish that consists of stir-fried meat, egg and an assortment of vegetables, including cabbage and bean sprouts. Traditionally, it would be made using leftovers. Chicken is one of the more common meats used for the dish, but beef, pork, fish and shrimp are also frequently used. Typically, Chop Suey is served with rice; however, some Chinese-American takeaways will mix in stir-fried noodles, making the dish more like a chow mein.

A Dish for a Diplomat

One of the most enduring legends surrounding the origins of Chop Suey follows the belief that the dish was created in August 1896, for a Chinese diplomat visiting New York City. Hosting a dinner for Li Hongzhang and a group of American guests, the chef was asked to prepare a dish that would be enjoyed by both Chinese and American palates. In response, Chop Suey was created. However, references to Chop Suey appear in articles and literature from before this time, with the dish described in 1884 as ‘the national dish of China’, suggesting that the origins of Chop Suey predate the diplomats visit!

A Dish for Miners

Another origin story involves a Chinese restaurant and Gold Rush miners. One of the first Chinese restaurants in San Francisco was visited by a group of hungry miners late at night in 1849. The restaurant owner was ready to close up, so did not want to cook them a fresh dish. Instead, he mixed together the leftover scraps from previous customers and served it to the miners as a stew.

Tsap Seui

Tsap Seui, meaning ‘miscellaneous leftovers’, is a dish that was popular in Taishan, within the Guangdong province. This area of China was where many of the first Chinese immigrants to America were from, which suggests that this dish may have been brought over with them. Sounding alike in both name and ingredients, it seems fairly likely that the Chop Suey we enjoy today was influenced by this dish.

If you’d like to make Chop Suey or other Chinese dishes, Oriental Mart’s Chinese supermarket online has all the ingredients you will need to make a truly authentic dish!

Image Credit: Dirk Vorderstraße