Chop Suey Recipe

Chop Suey is a vegetable dish composed of assorted vegetables cooked down in a thick, gravy-like sauce. It usually contains pork, shrimp, and often even boiled quail eggs. This Chop Suey is a vegan take on the Filipino-Chinese classic that we’d often have at home. It’s a great way to use up leftover veggies and is easily customisable depending on what you have.

INGREDIENTS

Vegetables and Protein

• • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 small white onion sliced into squares
  • 1 small carrot peeled and sliced
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth to cook down broccoli and carrot
  • 220 g vegan protein of choice I used rehydrated soy chunks (see notes)
  • 1/4 large head of cabbage sliced
  • 2 small heads of bok choy or other leafy greens sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small red bell pepper sliced into squares
  • 1 can young corn sliced

Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

Corn Starch Slurry

• • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/4 cup room temperature water

To Season

• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

To Serve

• • Steamed Rice or noodles

• • Prepare the vegetables of your choice. You’ll want to start with the vegetables that take longer to cook. In this case, I started with my carrot and broccoli since these take longer to cook down.
  • Sauce: Mix the sauce together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  • Surry: Mix the water and starch in a small bowl until diluted. Set aside.
• To Cook:
• Heat a large pan or wok over high heat. Once hot, add in neutral cooking oil. Sauté the garlic and onion until translucent & aromatic, around 1 minute. Add in the carrot and broccoli. Over medium to medium-high heat, add the water/broth and then cover the pan or wok to allow these to cook in the steam. Leave for around 3-4 mins or until the carrot and broccoli are half-cooked.
• Add in the cabbage, bok choy, bell pepper, young corn, and other veggies of choice. Stir-fry these over high heat for 1-2 minutes. You’ll want to get the veggies crisp and tender without releasing much liquid.
• Protein: You can add a little more oil and then stir-fry the vegan protein of choice. You can also season this with some soy sauce or veg oyster sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes. If using tofu, see the notes below.
• Afterwards, lower the heat to medium. Mix the sauce again then pour it in vegetables.
• Leave the sauce to a boil over medium heat. Once it boils, give the cornstarch slurry a good mix then pour it into the pan. This will help thicken the sauce.
• Mix the veggies well to coat in the sauce. Taste the veggies and feel free to season with more soy sauce/vegetarian oyster sauce and salt + pepper to taste.
• Turn off the heat. Serve and enjoy with some steamed rice or noodles.

NOTES

PROTEIN