chop suey

American  

[chop-soo-ee] / ˈtʃɒpˈsu i /

Or chop sooy

noun

1. a Chinese-style American dish consisting of small pieces of meat, chicken, etc., cooked together with bean sprouts, onions, mushrooms, or other vegetables and seasoning, in a gravy, often served with rice and soy sauce.

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chop suey British  

/ ˈsuːɪ /

noun

1. a Chinese-style dish originating in the US, consisting of meat or chicken, bean sprouts, etc, stewed and served with rice

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Etymology

Origin of chop suey

1885–90, < dialectal Chinese (Guangdong) jaahp seui mixed bits, akin to Chinese zá suì

Example Sentences

When Sylvia Wu opened Madame Wu’s Garden in Los Angeles in 1959, chop suey houses still dominated American Chinese food.

From New York Times • Oct. 9, 2022

By the time Mr Chan had his first tastes of chop suey, there were relatively few Chinese Americans in the US - 0.08% of the total population - most of whom were descended from Toisan.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2021

The restaurants served a chop suey drowning in gravy and spiced like curry.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2021

Under her guidance, the Mandarin rejected the orthodoxy of Chinese restaurants in mid-20th-century America: It didn’t serve chop suey or watered-down Cantonese dishes.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2020

I guess it’s no wonder my mother and I never had an interesting conversation when all we eat is canned soup, chop suey, and instant coffee.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel