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

Since 1959, they’ve come for Chinese American classics such as sweet and sour chicken, barbecued pork chow mein, egg rolls, chop suey and shrimp fried rice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025

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

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 asked Cecile for some money for dinner, and Fern and I went out to pick up chop suey from Ming’s.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia