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Home Collections Asian Takeout

Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)

By:Nagi
Published:10 Mar '20Updated:8 Jun '21
297 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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 on a plate, ready to be served

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.

Close up of Chop Suey - Chicken Stir Fry - with plenty of Chinese brown gravy!

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.

Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaoxing rice wine, Shao-hsing or Shaohsing) - an essential to make truly tasty stir fries like Chinese restaurants. recipetineats.com

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.

Tenderised chicken for stir fries (velveting) - Chop Suey Chicken Stir Fry

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!

Close up of Chop Suey - Chicken Stir Fry served over white rice

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:

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If you’re new to this Chop Suey recipe, be prepared to be amazed how similar it really is to Chinese takeout.

“It’s just like the stir fries at Golden Century Chinese Restaurant!!”, first timers exclaim.

Or Golden Palace or Golden Pearl or Golden Wheel or Golden Unicorn or Golden Dragon.

Ahh, Chinese restaurant names, they provide much amusement. But that’s a story for another time! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Close up of Chop Suey - Chicken Stir Fry - ready to be served

Chop Suey - Chicken Stir Fry

Author: Nagi
Prep: 9 minutes mins
Cook: 6 minutes mins
Total: 14 minutes mins
Mains, Stir Fry
American Chinese
4.99 from 112 votes
Servings2 - 3 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 1349
Recipe video above. The essential ingredient for a great Chop Suey sauce is Chinese cooking wine. All Chinese restaurants use it! See notes for subs if you can't get your hands on it. Veggie loaded, light on the meat, this is healthy and adaptable to whatever you've got in your fridge!

Ingredients

Optional Tenderised Chicken (Note 1):

  • 180g (6oz ) chicken breast , thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carb (optional, Note 1)

Sauce (or use Charlie, Note 2):

  • 1 tbsp cornflour / corn starch
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce , or all purpose soy(Note 3)
  • 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (Note 4)
  • 1 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine OR Mirin (Note 5)
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
  • Dash of white pepper (or black)
  • 3/4 cup (185 ml) water

Stir Fry:

  • 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other cooking oil)
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
  • 1/2 onion , sliced (white, brown, yellow)
  • 5 - 6 stems choy sum (or other Asian greens)
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (shiitake is authentic, but any will do)
  • 1 cup bean sprouts

Instructions

"Velvet" Chicken (optional, Note 1)

  • Place chicken in a bowl, sprinkle over baking soda. Use your fingers to mix then set aside for 20 minutes, no longer than 30 minutes (can get too tender). Rinse well, pat excess water with paper towels, set aside (see video).

Prep Ingredients:

  • Sauce: Place cornflour and soy sauce in a bowl. Mix until lump free. Then add remaining Sauce ingredients and stir.
  • Chop choy sum: Trim end off choy sum. Then cut into 7cm (3") pieces. Separate stems from leaves.
  • Chop carrot - Peel then cut into 3cm (1.3") pieces. Then slice the pieces thinly.

Stir Fry:

  • Heat oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add garlic, stir quickly, then add onion, Cook for 1 minute, moving constantly, until onion is starting to wilt.
  • Add chicken, cook for 1 minute until the surface changes from pink to white.
  • Add choy sum stems, carrot and mushrooms. Stir fry for 1 minute.
  • Add choy sum leaves, bean sprouts and Sauce. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes until the Sauce thickens to a thick syrup consistency. Vegetables should still be tender/crisp, not soggy and soft.
  • Serve immediately with rice (for low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!)

Recipe Notes:

1. Tenderised Chicken: Read more about Velveting Chicken the Chinese way for ultra tender chicken like you get in Chinese restaurant stir fries. 
Skip the step if using chicken thigh - it's not needed, it's juicy enough.
2. CHARLIE is my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce. If you haven't met him yet and you love stir fries, you are going to be best friends very soon. Find the recipe for him here, along with how to use him. To use Charlie for this recipe, replace the Sauce with 4 tablespoons of Charlie + 3/4 tsp cornflour / cornstarch + 3/4 cup water.
3. LIGHT SOY SAUCE: This is what keeps the sauce colour clear-ish. You can use ordinary all purpose soy sauce and it will pretty much look the same. If you use dark soy sauce, reduce to 1 tbsp - will still be tasty but the sauce will be super dark brown and a stronger soy flavour.
4. Oyster sauce - substitute with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (available at some large grocery stores) for vegetarian / shellfish free option.
5. CHINESE COOKING WINE: An essential in Chinese cooking, used by every Chinese restaurant. Read more here. 
Substitutions: dry sherry or  Mirin, followed by Japanese cooking Sake.
Non alcoholic: Use chicken broth instead of water in the Sauce. 
6. No need to marinate the chicken for this recipe because it's sliced thinly and there's plenty of sauce!
7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings. It's 2 very generous servings, with enough vegetables for a meal - you won't need a side for this. Excludes rice / noodles. Use low sodium soy sauce to reduce sodium.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 618gCalories: 298cal (15%)Carbohydrates: 18g (6%)Protein: 25g (50%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 57mg (19%)Sodium: 1112mg (48%)Potassium: 1071mg (31%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 12155IU (243%)Vitamin C: 34.3mg (42%)Calcium: 103mg (10%)Iron: 3.4mg (19%)
Keywords: Chicken Stir Fry, Chop Suey
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Originally published November 2017, modified October 2018, and updated March 2020 with new photos and video! No change to the recipe!

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297 Comments

  1. Ron says

    December 9, 2023 at 1:01 am

    5 stars
    So I’ve made this dish several times now…..lunch an for Dinner….and it keeps getting better….. 🙂

    Reply
  2. TWalker says

    August 1, 2023 at 7:37 pm

    Best recipe ever! Delish! Super tasty! So easy! Super tender chicken… Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Sue Daly says

    June 19, 2023 at 8:59 pm

    5 stars
    Wow….this has becomes a Monday night fave….so delicious and easy to do…I’m using homegrown Bok Choy as we have an abundance of it at the moment. Hubby loves this dish too.

    Reply
  4. Shanita Cupido says

    June 9, 2023 at 3:40 am

    I just made your chop suey recipe for the 1sr time…. Everyone in my household loves it….this is definitely one of our favorites…. Thank you Nagi

    Reply
  5. Megan says

    June 2, 2023 at 9:26 am

    5 stars
    I adapted this to a crockpot and used broth in place of the Chinese Cooking Wine and water and my entire family loved it! I used baby corn, carrots, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and onions along with chicken thighs. Then I tripled the sauce to make sure there was plenty. Definitely including this sauce in my regular rotation.

    Reply
  6. Laurel (ChefPotpie) says

    May 5, 2023 at 1:38 pm

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe! Finally, a blast from the past with this Chinese American Chop Suey that’s truly reminiscent of our favorite restaurant that closed it’s doors many years ago. I had baby bok choy that I subbed for the greens, and added celery and water chestnuts. Thank you for posting this, I will go back to it time after time! You have great recipes and are a trusted site for me. All of your recipes that I’ve tried have been fabulous!

    Reply
  7. Kristen says

    May 1, 2023 at 5:36 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my. Had with “Thai-style” noodles & it was juicy and tender.

    Reply
  8. Hannah Elliott says

    March 22, 2023 at 7:24 am

    5 stars
    We just ate this, and wow! I can’t remember the last time I reviewed a recipe, but I couldn’t not. The bicarb trick worked so well, and really gives an authentic Chinese texture. This will become a regular dish for us.

    Reply
  9. Esther says

    March 4, 2023 at 11:42 pm

    5 stars
    Quick, easy, tasty.
    Better than Golden Gates/Walls or Lakes because it was fresh.
    Made with Charlie’s sauce as a hack. Served with the Emergency “fried” rice,
    Fake-away success.

    Reply
  10. Adrienne Kreegher says

    January 28, 2023 at 8:37 am

    5 stars
    Thank you so much Nagi for this recipe, its a winner!! My family love this recipe. Velveting is no longer scary, I’m converted to using chicken breast in more recipes.

    Reply
  11. Clare says

    January 18, 2023 at 9:05 pm

    Hi Nagi I must have done something wrong I found the sauce very bland needed a punch… overall was disappointed. Sorry I follow your recipes and always have success not this time…

    Reply
  12. Narelle says

    December 4, 2022 at 4:54 pm

    5 stars
    Awesome.. just like really great chinese take away.. double sauce quantity if you like it really saucy. I had with rice which soaked up sauce.
    Your recipes never fail Nagi X

    Reply
  13. Faye Coughlan says

    October 9, 2022 at 9:59 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious!!! Yummy flavours!

    Reply
  14. Mark Forde says

    September 8, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    Hi Nagi. Can i make this using the slow cooker Chinese shredded chicken i have in the slow cooker at he moment. I have been searching the comments and can’t find it on others posts.
    Thanking you
    M Forde

    Reply
  15. Gee Gee says

    July 29, 2022 at 3:50 am

    5 stars
    Another winning recipe from Nagi!!! It was very good. I subbed with the vegetables I had on hand:: pea pods, broccoli, carrots, and onions. I doubled the recipe hoping for leftovers, but it was so good we ate it all! Thanks, Nagi! I love your recipes!

    Reply
  16. Paul says

    July 28, 2022 at 7:41 am

    Very Good. Easy to make. Wife and I both liked it. We had over Jasmine rice. Leftovers tomorrow. Thanks for your recipes. You are the best.

    Reply
  17. Rebecca says

    June 13, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    So yummy! Love the tenderised chicken!

    Reply
  18. Ingrid Vogel says

    June 7, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve just made this Chicken Chop Suey for dinner. It tasted just like it would in a Chinese Restaurant 😋
    And I also made “Charlie” 😁 which, of course, I used in the stir fry and also to keep in the fridge for more stir fries. The Chop Suey was absolutely delicious 😋 and so very easy and quick to make. I’ve recommended it to my Daughter who also loves cooking. Thanks lots for your recipes Nagi

    Reply
  19. Sophie says

    June 6, 2022 at 10:43 am

    Hi Nagi, I have tried so many of your recipes and love them, thank you! I’m in NZ and use 15ml for a tablespoon. I have just learnt that Australia use 20ml for a tablespoon. I’m guessing your recipes use 20ml for a Tbs? Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  20. Marla says

    May 17, 2022 at 2:35 am

    5 stars
    Delicious. All your recipes are easy and so yummy. Thank you. My family thanks you.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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