Chicken Chop Suey
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 servings
- 1large or 2 medium chicken thighs
- 1½pounds bok choy, washed and cut into eighths lengthwise, then crosswise into 3-to-4-inch ribbons
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1½tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1teaspoon sugar
- 1tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Salt to taste
- White pepper
Preparation
- Step 1
In two cups of boiling water, simmer the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from the water, and let cool. Reserve the stock. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat, chop and set aside; discard the skin and bones.
- Step 2
Put the vegetable oil in a large, wide skillet set over high heat. When it is hot, add the bok choy, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then add half the reserved stock to the pan, and cover; cook until the bok choy is crisp but still tender, about 2 minutes. Remove the cover, and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates and the bok choy browns a bit, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Step 3
Add the remaining stock and the chicken to the pan set over high heat. Heat the chicken through, then add the oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch slurry, sesame oil and reserved bok choy; season to taste. Toss to combine, and serve immediately over rice.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Figaro
My husband and I are from Boston where the Cantonese style Chinese food was superb. My husband, who is a purist, insisted I use thin sliced, celery, onions and bean sprouts (which meant a trip to the store). We also got him some crunchy chow mein noodles. The bok choy I had to sneak in, since he doesn't like that.. He never noticed. I added ginger and garlic for more punch and for more flavor, I use chicken stock with the cornstarch. Served it over brown rice. He said I can make this again!
Brandon J. Li
Very nice basic recipe as is that can easily be modified to suit ones individual tastes. Grandma Li and I added 1tsp each of sauteed garlic and ginger. As for vegetables we added mushrooms, slivered carrot, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and bean sprouts to the mix. Some folks may also enjoy adding Romano green beans (Italian) to their Chinese-American dishes.
Served over rice this is the classic Chinese-American called Chop Suey. When served over fried noodles it then becomes Chow Mein.
Joe
I've cooked this dish a number of times now. I think the secret is to add an appropriate amount of salt while cooking the stock, and a popular move has been to add a star anise to the stock while it is cooking which brings the whole dish to life. I have from time to time included shiitake. It is a very clean dish. I cook it from time to time for myself and for friends who love it too.
Ruth
Quick and simple for a weekday meal. Added sliced mushrooms. Told by a Chinese cook that this is classic chop suey and you can add veggies to suit your taste. Thanks for a flavorful recipe that has few ingredients and I can whip up easily on a workday.
Jilli Robertson
This dish transported me to my youth. A recipe gets high marks that makes and uses it own stock.
Bunnee
This was not astounding. I thought the seasoning was inadequate as written, so I did some doctoring. I also added add'l vegetables. This may be some kind of old school Chinese, but it is not very memorable.
Julie R
This is a simple, yet yummy, recipe. I substituted soy and worcestershire sauces for the oyster, since I didn't have any and it was really, really good. Hubby had seconds! I could see adding more veggies, sure, but for a simple weeknight meal, I like the minimalism.
Marian V.
I was confused by the directions for cutting the bok choy. I ended up cutting it into 4 inch lengths and slicing it in to ribbons.
I added thinly sliced celery, onion, and mushrooms as well as slivered carrots. I used left over chicken from a rotisserie chicken and some chicken broth I had on hand.
This was delicious and comes together very quickly if the chicken is already cooked.
Lisa
This was delicious and comforting. I like my Asian food a bit spicy so I added a good amount of garlic and ginger just before I put the bok choy in the wok. I then added some shitake mushrooms, and added bamboo shoots, scallions and a teaspoon of garlic chili paste (for double the recipe) at the end. I served it as a soup over soba noodles. The whole preparation took ~1 1/12 hours.
TAMOJIT GHOSH
Lovely dish. Very easy. Mushrooms in it make a difference. Offer the guest some spicy chilli sauce alongside. Can be eaten directly not over rice. The sesame oil makes a big difference.
Kevin
Usually love MB recipes - so i jumped at this -- Easy Peezy.........Dish did not turn out well -- lacked flavor, was too oily, seemed to be too light in chicken. Overall I thought the recipe just had the wrong proportions of everything.
Lemanswinner
Made this numerous times. Love it. Go light on the poaching liquid in step 2. Otherwise it will take too long to steam off and the bok choy might be mush. Also, bean sprouts, please.
Es
What a great recipe. Better than the Chun King of my childhood. And so easy. I think I will make this frequently, now that I've discovered this recipe, as we often have leftover chicken. I used leftovers from a roast chicken and water with some Better Than Bouillon for the stock. So many add-ins possible: what comes to mind first is rehydrated dried mushrooms using some of the mushroom water. But then beansprouts, snow peas, etc.
Brian Perkins
This is an awesome and easy recipe from one of my favorite places to eat in LA. Thank you to the user who recommended star anise in the broth - it added a lot of flavor and made the broth very aromatic. I also strongly recommend a few dashes of Maggi seasoning in the beginning with the broth and at the end when you add the chicken to the remaining broth for a subtle kick of umami. I added some water chestnuts to the bok choy for some extra crunch too.
edith
For those that are using shiitake mushrooms, are you using fresh or dried?
marianne
Utterly delicious, Light and perfect on a hot day. Bravo!
Cynthia
Made this several times, all delicious. Sometimes add mushrooms, or ginger and/or water chestnuts. Sometimes we serve it over fried chow mein noodles instead of rice. A new favorite recipe.
Cynthia
Loved this. Made twice, once as is, and once with shitake mushrooms, ginger and garlic and served over fried noodles. Great both ways!
jill
What reserved book Choy?
meinmunich
Added some gingers along with bok choy and had a wonderful result. Simple but good. Great with kimchi.
charronob
Love this simple, quick, retro dish. As others have mentioned, it’s an uncluttered canvas waiting for personalization. We like it with spicy chili crisp added to each bowl to taste.
Lyn
Use chicken tenders. Ginger Garlic Shiitake/oyster/etc. Celery Carrots Mrs. Choy
PatC
In my long ago youth in suburban NYC Chop Suey always had celery and was topped by those fried round Chinese noodles—you can still get them in a can at the supermarket. Today I add some sliced shiitakes and bean sprouts. I also will try some minced garlic and a dash of soy in the sauce.
Wanda
Could add one star anise to the broth Could add shitaki mushrooms, celery, onions or scallions, garlic, ginger to add flavor, plus 1/2 to 1 teas. chile garlic paste Garnish with cilantro, avocado Serve over rice
irving13
Just having the recipe leaves out all the flavors the article brought to the table. From avocado to the Central Market the article elevates the shared dining experience. As long as you keep it simple adding ingredients and condiments (avocado, radishes cilantro etc) makes it more fun.
Paul from CO
This was tasty. I used 3 skinless/bonelesss organic thighs and added about 1/3 lb of shiitakes. The bland sauce was nothing Chinese but did remind me of south side Chicago chop suey joints.
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