American chopsuey is a famous and most common dish available in Chinese restaurants
in India. The combination of crispy noodles, crunchy vegetables and
meat with sauce and egg makes very tasty and appetizing as a popular
Indo-Chinese dish. The sauce made for the crunchy noodles is sour and
sweet and goes well with our crunchy vegetables and crunchy noodles.
American chopsuey is not an authentic Chinese dish but is an American
dish (western side) which was modified by the Chinese restaurateurs to
suit their taste. The same way I think our Indian restaurateurs changed the recipe
as per Indian taste by adding crispy noodles and fried egg, but there
is no evidence and information until now. The only thing I know is, a
classic American chop suey consists
of macaroni and beef with some vegetables in a tomato based sauce. Chop
suey means quickly cooked dish made with vegetables with any meat and
egg, combines with a thick sauce. I have never found or tasted American
chopsuey in other places except Indo-Chinese restaurants in India.
In India, in Indo-Chinese restaurants, each restaurant
serve it differently like crispy noodles mixed with the sauce, meat,
vegetables and served with a fried egg or crispy egg on top, with crispy
noodles beneath and sauce beneath the noodles mixed with vegetables and
any meat.
For vegetarians can prepare with soya chunks or paneer (cottage cheese).
I have prepared the American chopsuey as per my taste and liking and
the way Indo – Chinese restaurants serve it, like I have cooked the
sauce with meat and vegetables and served with crispy noodles or cook
the sauce separately and meat and vegetables separately to have crunchy
texture like in the vegetarian American chop suey.
Ingredients
- Oil – 2 tbsp
- Chicken – 75 gms or more
- Garlic cloves (big) – 2
- Ginger – 1 tsp
- Onion (small, sliced) – 1/2
- Green chilli (sliced) – 1
- Spring onion (chopped) – 2
- Cauliflower (sliced) – 3 florets
- Cabbage (sliced) – 1/4 cup
- Mushroom (medium) – 2
- Carrot (small) – 1
- Capsicum (red and green) – 1/4 of each
- Chicken stock cube (Knorr brand) – 1
- Water – 1 cup
- Tomato Ketchup – 1/2 cup
- Dark soya sauce – 2 tsp
- Chilli garlic sauce – 2 to 3 tbsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Vinegar – 1tsp
- Chinese salt (MSG, optional) – 1/2 tsp
- White Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
- Corn starch – 50 ml water + 1 tsp corn flour
- Boiled noodles (optional) – 1/3 cup Crispy noodles
- Maggi noodles or ramen – 85 gms
- Corn flour – 1 tbsp
- Fried egg – 1
Method
- American chop suey has 3 steps
- Slice all the vegetables in one shape like long slices, carrot long cut, cabbage shredded, cauliflower and other vegetables like julienne cut.
- I have added the vegetables as per my taste and quantity, can add any vegetables as per your taste.
- Cut chicken pieces in to small or slice it. Crispy noodles
- Boil the noodles (maggi or ramen) in hot water for 1 to 2 min, strain and allow drying.
- Sprinkle some corn flour and mix well, spread it on the tissue pepper or on a plate, keep it aside.
- Heat the oil, when hot add all the noodles by batches on top of the noodles for deep fry, it will take 5 to 7min or cook till it is crispy, turn in between.
- After frying the noodles keep it aside or can be stored in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days. Sauce
- Take a wider vessel, add oil, when hot, add chicken pieces, sauté for few minutes, until almost cooked.
- Add garlic, ginger, green chillies, white part of spring onion, msg and all the vegetables except capsicum and green part of spring onion.
- Sauté for 1 to 2min on a high flame, then reduce to medium.
- Add chicken cube, tomato ketchup, chilli garlic sauce, dark soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water mix all and allow cooking for 3 to 4min on medium and simmer for 2min.
- Add cornstarch (mix water and corn flour together) and capsicum, white pepper powder allows boiling for 2min.
- The sauce will be thick consistency and a good bright colour.
- At last add noodles (boiled) and spring onion, mix all and switch off, keep it aside.
- Take a frying pan add 1tbsp oil, when hot add egg and fry only one side with a sprinkle of salt and pepper (black or white). Assembling American chopsuey
- Take a plate and place fried noodles.
- Pour the sauce with vegetables and chicken over the noodles.
- Place an egg on top and serve hot and immediately.
1. Frying crispy noodles
2. Preparing the sauce with vegetables and meat
3. Assembling all noodles, sauce with fried egg on top
Notes
- You can chop the vegetables any shape and any size you like.
- You can use prawns instead of chicken and for vegetarians you can use soya chunks or paneer (Cottage cheese).
- You can cook the chicken, vegetables and sauce all separately. It gives a more crunchy taste. \
- For the crispy noodle, you can use rice noodles and deep fry and it will immediately swell and have a different texture. In the market I found noodles, which were similar to Maggi noodles and you can use that.
- You can avoid boiled noodles in the sauce. I used it as I had some left over noodles from another recipe I was cooking.
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