chop suey

American  

[chop-soo-ee] / ˈtʃɒpˈsu i /

Or chop sooy

noun

• chop sueys
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chop sueys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chop suey

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chop suey

Early editions of “The Settlement Cook Book” included chop suey and Spaghetti Italienne, but most of its foreign dishes were either German or German-Jewish, reflecting the largest immigrant groups in Milwaukee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

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

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