What is pork chop suey
Pork chop suey is one of those Chinese American classics that you usually find at takeout restaurants in the US, but probably not in China. It’s in that special category with other popular takeout dishes, such as General Tso’s Chicken, Orange Chicken, Sesame Beef, and Egg Foo Young. And it’s popular for a reason – because it’s super delicious! Chop suey is usually made with a protein (such as chicken, pork, or beef) and various vegetables stir fried together with a brown sauce. It is very comforting and rich in taste, and it has fun textures. A takeout-style pork chop suey usually consists of vegetables such as carrot, celery, pepper, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. For me, this is where you can get really creative. Since the word “chop suey” means “mixed vegetables” or “vegetable scraps”, it is a perfect recipe for using up whatever vegetables you have on hand to make a delicious and balanced meal.
Pork chop suey ingredients
What cut of pork to use
Pork loin and tenderloin are the best for making pork chop suey. My favorite cut is tenderloin, since it is very lean and extra tender.
The sauce
My pork chop suey uses a well balanced brown sauce that is savory, lightly sweet, and full of fragrance. The key ingredients are oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine with a touch of sesame oil. By adding these ingredients, your brown sauce will be much more interesting than the ones mainly made from soy sauce.
The vegetables
My pork chop suey uses onion, carrots, baby bok choy and bean sprouts to give the dish a colorful appearance and a great texture and mouthfeel. That being said, you can also use many other types of vegetables you might have on hand to replace the ones in this recipe. Scroll down to see some vegetable alternatives.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
Sliced vegetables (I grouped the carrots and bok choy together because I add them at the same time)Mixed sauceMarinated pork Minced garlic
When you start cooking, things will move very fast. So make sure you have all the ingredients ready before turning on the heat.
How to cook pork chop suey
What pan to use
Either a large nonstick skillet (12” or larger) or a large carbon steel skillet is a great option. If you use a carbon steel skillet, you might need to use a bit more oil when cooking the pork, to avoid sticking. A cast iron skillet works great too but I usually avoid it since it’s quite heavy.
Pork chop suey cooking step-by-step
And that’s it! Now you have a beautiful plate of pork chop suey that has a ton of vegetables in it and is super rich in flavor. You can serve it over steamed rice for a balanced meal.
What other vegetables can you use in pork chop suey?
The beauty of pork chop suey is that, once you understand the basics, you can use many different kinds of vegetables to create a delicious dish. To give the dish the best texture, I recommend using a combination of hard and crisp vegetables and greens. For hard, crisp vegetables, you can use:
CeleryBell pepper or hot pepper if you prefer a spicy dishBamboo shootsWater chestnutBaby corn
Green vegetables:
Broccoli (blanched, check out this recipe to see how I quickly blanch broccoli in a skillet)CabbageNapa cabbageChoy sumYu choySpinachSnow peas
As a rule of thumb, it’s good to use about 1/2 cup of the harder vegetables and no more than 1 cup. For the more tender vegetables, it is a bit trickier to judge, since different vegetables shrink at different rates when cooked. I think a total of 4 to 5 cups usually works well, or the amount that can just cover your skillet without too much overlap.
Other easy and delicious takeout dishes
Mongolian Beef (Without Using a Wok)Cashew Chicken (腰果鸡丁)Yang Zhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭)Black Pepper ChickenChinese Beef and Broccoli (牛肉炒西兰花)Chinese Curry Chicken
Lilja Walter was a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
