We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing. The
result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what else I
should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps used a
different oil.

My recipe:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
1/2 med onion cut into strips
~1 c sliced mushrooms
~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
water
corn starch

I stir fried the chicken strips in light olive oil then added the
vegetables. When the vegetables were ready, I added a little water then
thickened with a water/corn starch mixture.

Serendipity wrote:
> We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
> duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing. The
> result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what else I
> should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps used a
> different oil.
>
> My recipe:
> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
> water
> corn starch
>
> I stir fried the chicken strips in light olive oil then added the
> vegetables. When the vegetables were ready, I added a little water then
> thickened with a water/corn starch mixture.

You are missing the ingredients that would give it the "Asian" flavor. I
would add soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine (such as Xiaoxing) and
maybe some oyster sauce. Also as you suggested a more neutral oil.

George wrote:

> Serendipity wrote:
>
>> We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
>> duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing. The
>> result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what else
>> I should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps used
>> a different oil.
>>
>> My recipe:
>> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
>> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
>> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
>> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
>> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
>> water
>> corn starch
>>
>> I stir fried the chicken strips in light olive oil then added the
>> vegetables. When the vegetables were ready, I added a little water
>> then thickened with a water/corn starch mixture.
>
>
> You are missing the ingredients that would give it the "Asian" flavor. I
> would add soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine (such as Xiaoxing) and
> maybe some oyster sauce. Also as you suggested a more neutral oil.

Ok, thanks George! I don't often cook Asian aside of refried rice. So
I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil? And how much
of the soy, cooking wine and oyster sauce would I add. Very much
appreciated!

Serendipity wrote:

>>
>> You are missing the ingredients that would give it the "Asian" flavor.
>> I would add soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine (such as Xiaoxing) and
>> maybe some oyster sauce. Also as you suggested a more neutral oil.
>
>
> Ok, thanks George! I don't often cook Asian aside of refried rice. So
> I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil? And how much
> of the soy, cooking wine and oyster sauce would I add. Very much
> appreciated!

Think of the sesame oil as an aromatic seasoning. I would do the frying
using a neutral oil sych as peanut,soybean, canola etc. Then add a small
amount of sesame oil towards the end. Sesame oil has a low smoking point
and a strong flavor so it is never used as a "cooking" oil.

You do all of this to taste. For a single serving maybe 2 tablespoons of
soy sauce and a tablespon of oyster sauce and a splash of cooking wine
and sesame oil. Also you want to get a good oyster sauce. The contents
list will have "oyster extractives" listed as the first item.

In article >, Serendipity
> wrote:


> Ok, thanks George! I don't often cook Asian aside of refried rice. So

I like fried rice as well as the next white guy, but I understand that to
the Chinese it is strictly a food to use up leftover rice, and isn't
served to guests or ordered in a restaurant.


> I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil?


Dark sesame oil is used for flavoring, not cooking in. It is usually
added at the very end to preserve the intense flavor.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS

Dan Abel wrote:

>
> I like fried rice as well as the next white guy, but I understand that to
> the Chinese it is strictly a food to use up leftover rice, and isn't
> served to guests or ordered in a restaurant.
>

Call me cheap, but you won't catch me paying for fried rice in a restaurant.
It's a great dish for left overs.

> > I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil?
>
> Dark sesame oil is used for flavoring, not cooking in. It is usually
> added at the very end to preserve the intense flavor.

I don't often use sesame oil but there is one dish where it is irreplaceable,
chilli shrimp. Marinate a pound of shrimp in 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sesame
oil. Finely mince some ginger root and garlic. Put a bit of oil into a hot
wake, toss in the garlic and ginger and stir around the pan once, add the
shrimp and when they are half done toss in some chopped green onion.

Dave Smith wrote:
> Dan Abel wrote:
> >
> > I like fried rice as well as the next white guy, but I understand
> > that to the Chinese it is strictly a food to use up leftover rice,
> > and isn't served to guests or ordered in a restaurant.
> >
> Call me cheap, but you won't catch me paying for fried rice in a
restaurant.
> It's a great dish for left overs. [snip]

You guys are generally right, but there is one fairly well-known
exception. A dish called "Yangchow fried rice" has become pretty well
standardized as something more than home-cooked leftovers. It features
shrimp or prawns and straw mushrooms, as well as lotus seeds if they
have them. But as you say, the fried rice in our house once or twice a
week features leftovers.

-aem

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Dan Abel wrote:
>
> >
> > I like fried rice as well as the next white guy, but I understand that
to
> > the Chinese it is strictly a food to use up leftover rice, and isn't
> > served to guests or ordered in a restaurant.
> >
>
> Call me cheap, but you won't catch me paying for fried rice in a
restaurant.
> It's a great dish for left overs.
>
> > > I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil?
> >
> > Dark sesame oil is used for flavoring, not cooking in. It is usually
> > added at the very end to preserve the intense flavor.
>
> I don't often use sesame oil but there is one dish where it is
irreplaceable,
> chilli shrimp. Marinate a pound of shrimp in 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sesame
> oil. Finely mince some ginger root and garlic. Put a bit of oil into a
hot
> wake, toss in the garlic and ginger and stir around the pan once, add the
> shrimp and when they are half done toss in some chopped green onion.
>


Is there chili in the chili shrimp? Sounds good tho even w/out it!

helen

Dan Abel wrote:
> In article >, Serendipity
> > wrote:
>
>
> > Ok, thanks George! I don't often cook Asian aside of refried rice.
So
>
> I like fried rice as well as the next white guy, but I understand
that to
> the Chinese it is strictly a food to use up leftover rice, and isn't
> served to guests or ordered in a restaurant.

Not true! Fried rice is available at just about any hole-in-the-wall
restaurant in China. It's a very common side dish at lunch/dinner and
there are plenty of roadside breakfast stalls that serve fried rice.

Cheers,

Adilah

Serendipity wrote:
> George wrote:
>
>> Serendipity wrote:
>>
>>> We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
>>> duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing.
>>> The result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what
>>> else I should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps
>>> used a different oil.
>>>
>>> My recipe:
>>> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
>>> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
>>> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
>>> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
>>> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
>>> water
>>> corn starch
>>>
>>> I stir fried the chicken strips in light olive oil then added the
>>> vegetables. When the vegetables were ready, I added a little water
>>> then thickened with a water/corn starch mixture.
>>
>>
>>
>> You are missing the ingredients that would give it the "Asian" flavor.
>> I would add soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine (such as Xiaoxing) and
>> maybe some oyster sauce. Also as you suggested a more neutral oil.
>
>
> Ok, thanks George! I don't often cook Asian aside of refried rice. So
> I would cook in the sesame oil rather than the olive oil? And how much
> of the soy, cooking wine and oyster sauce would I add. Very much
> appreciated!


Oh my goodness! No you don't cook in sesame oil! Toasted sesame oil is
a powerful condiment that is added a few drops at a time right before
serving. I use just a little oyster sauce and sesame oil when I make
fried rice. I use oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and lots of peppers when
I stirfry vegetables with meat or noodles, but that's a much different
style than you are describing. Oyster sauce goes well with beef, and it
tastes surprisingly unlike oysters.

I would probably start by adding garlic (or scallions if you don't like
garlic), ginger, and rice wine or cooking sherry. Adjust the salt by
adding soy sauce (unless you prefer fish sauce, which smells like fish
and tastes like soy sauce but saltier.)

Bob

George wrote:
>
> You are missing the ingredients that would give it the "Asian"
> flavor. I would add soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine (such
> as Xiaoxing) and maybe some oyster sauce. Also as you suggested
> a more neutral oil.

Right. A typical preparation would go something like this.
Slice the chicken and mix with 1 or 2 TB rice wine or sherry, salt,
1 TB soy sauce (optional), white pepper (optional), and set aside.
Slice the onion and mushrooms. Rinse the bean sprouts and bamboo
shoots.
Heat a wok or heavy pan over high heat, add 2 TB peanut or veg.
oil.
Stirfry onions and mushrooms for 2 minutes.
Add chicken and stirfry until done, probably 2 or 3 minutes
depending on thickness.
Add the sprouts and shoots and any leftover marinade. Stir well.
Add soy sauce to taste, and about a half teaspoon of sesame oil.
If a sauce is desired, add some water and a cornstarch slurry,
stirring till thickened and glistening. Serve immediately.

-aem

Serendipity wrote:
> We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
> duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing.
The
> result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what
else I
> should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps used a

> different oil.
>
> My recipe:
> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
> water
> corn starch

Yes, a bit of soy sauce.
Also more onion, like 2 medium cut into wedges (eigths).
And celery, 4-5 ribs cut on bias.
And bok choy, and/or nappa cabbage.
Stock instead of water. If canned 'shrooms use the liquid too.
Pinch of MSG, but generally no sesame oil in chop suey.
Garnish with green onion... perhaps a few peanuts

In NYC restaurants chop suey is typically house chow mein without the
bed of crispy noodles.

In article .com>,
"Sheldon" > wrote:


> In NYC restaurants chop suey is typically house chow mein without the
> bed of crispy noodles.


In this area (Northern California), chow mein doesn't come with crispy
noodles. The noodles are soft, but stir-fried. We don't have lo mein
here, but is lo mein a chowmein with soft noodles in your area?


I have never, ever seen chop suey on the menu in this area.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS

Dan Abel wrote:

> > In NYC restaurants chop suey is typically house chow mein without the
> > bed of crispy noodles.
>
> In this area (Northern California), chow mein doesn't come with crispy
> noodles. The noodles are soft, but stir-fried. We don't have lo mein
> here, but is lo mein a chowmein with soft noodles in your area?
>
> I have never, ever seen chop suey on the menu in this area.

You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when every region
of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese cooking. Around
here the only difference between chop suey and chow mein is that the latter
is topped with some crisp chow mein noodles, but if you order Cantonese
chow mein it is made with the soft noodles, and if you order War Bar you
get basically the same dish but with more spice, and some of the noodles
are fried crisp. The rudest surprise I had was when I had Chinese food
in Winnipeg about 30 years ago. Where I expected bok choy they used
cabbage.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when every
> region of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese
> cooking. Around here the only difference between chop suey and chow
> mein is that the latter is topped with some crisp chow mein noodles,
> but if you order Cantonese chow mein it is made with the soft
> noodles, and if you order War Bar you get basically the same dish but
> with more spice, and some of the noodles are fried crisp. The
> rudest surprise I had was when I had Chinese food in Winnipeg about
> 30 years ago. Where I expected bok choy they used cabbage.

This is hardly a surprise if you're just ordering chop suey and chow
mein. Both of those are catchall dishes--simple stirfries of
whatever's handy. There's no specific list of ingredients. You'll get
bok choy if they have it, cabbage (usually Napa) if they don't, carrot
where the cook likes the color. Differences in noodles are partly
regional, partly again what's on hand. The crispy chowmein noodles are
pretty much an American thing.

But if you start ordering specific dishes with traditional names at
decent restaurants you will find a lot more uniformity wherever in
North America you are. Mapo dofu or ants climbing a tree or kung pao
chicken or hot and sour soup, to name a few that have been recently
mentioned on rfc, are pretty well standardized. Vancouver has such a
large Chinese population now that you can get the same dishes as are
served in Hong Kong.

-aem

Dave Smith wrote:

> You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when every
> region of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese
> cooking.

Very few of which offer traditional Chinese cooking... Confucius roll
in grave.

Ever notice how rare it is to see an Oriental face dining off the menu
in a typical Chinese American restaurant (none). Far, far more likely
to find Chinese folks eating at a kosher deli.

Sheldon

"aem" > wrote in message
>
> This is hardly a surprise if you're just ordering chop suey and chow
> mein. Both of those are catchall dishes--simple stirfries of
> whatever's handy. There's no specific list of ingredients. You'll get
> bok choy if they have it, cabbage (usually Napa) if they don't, carrot
> where the cook likes the color. Differences in noodles are partly
> regional, partly again what's on hand. The crispy chowmein noodles are
> pretty much an American thing.
>

Correct -- The transliteration of "chop suey" is "bits and pieces" (as in
leftovers).

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005, aem wrote:

> Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>> You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when every
>> region of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese
>> cooking. Around here the only difference between chop suey and chow
>> mein is that the latter is topped with some crisp chow mein noodles,
>> but if you order Cantonese chow mein it is made with the soft
>> noodles, and if you order War Bar you get basically the same dish but
>> with more spice, and some of the noodles are fried crisp. The
>> rudest surprise I had was when I had Chinese food in Winnipeg about
>> 30 years ago. Where I expected bok choy they used cabbage.
>
> This is hardly a surprise if you're just ordering chop suey and chow
> mein. Both of those are catchall dishes--simple stirfries of
> whatever's handy. There's no specific list of ingredients. You'll get
> bok choy if they have it, cabbage (usually Napa) if they don't, carrot
> where the cook likes the color. Differences in noodles are partly
> regional, partly again what's on hand. The crispy chowmein noodles are
> pretty much an American thing.
>
> But if you start ordering specific dishes with traditional names at
> decent restaurants you will find a lot more uniformity wherever in
> North America you are. Mapo dofu or ants climbing a tree or kung pao
> chicken or hot and sour soup, to name a few that have been recently
> mentioned on rfc, are pretty well standardized. Vancouver has such a
> large Chinese population now that you can get the same dishes as are
> served in Hong Kong.

And the standardization comes by way of Confucianism... which made certain
dishes "possible" and others "unthinkable". Chinese cooking is more...
rigid (some might say "fossilized") than most other cuisines.

Hence why there is a good argument that Fusion cooking is better (strip
away cultural inhibitions, and you get something really, really cool...
just like my "Steak Merlot", which combines Indian, Morroccan, and French
cooking....)

Lena

In article >, Dave Smith
> wrote:


> You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when every region
> of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese cooking.


Although you have to remember that this isn't always Chinese cooking, it's
Chinese cooking for Americans. I'm told that the menu that only has
Chinese writing on it is considerably different than the menu with English
on it.


The other important factor is that China is a very large country, both in
terms of population and geography. Different foods grow in different
parts of the country, which influences what gets cooked. I believe that
different regions of the US have Chinese who immigrated from different
parts of China.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS

Dan Abel wrote:
> In article >, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
>
> > You have to wonder about the authenticity of Chinese food when
every region
> > of North America seems to have its own version of Chinese cooking.
>
>
> Although you have to remember that this isn't always Chinese cooking,
it's
> Chinese cooking for Americans. I'm told that the menu that only has
> Chinese writing on it is considerably different than the menu with
English
> on it.
>
>
> The other important factor is that China is a very large country,
both in
> terms of population and geography. Different foods grow in different
> parts of the country, which influences what gets cooked. I believe
that
> different regions of the US have Chinese who immigrated from
different
> parts of China.

That's why most Chinese American restaurants/menus indicate Cantonese,
Szechuan, Peking, etc., however none serve anything that resembles what
Chinese people actually eat in China. A few times In various major
Chinatowns in the US and Canada, and even Central America I made an
attempt to dine at Chinese restaurants habituated primarily by Chinese
people... nothing served was even remotely similar to what's served in
Chinese American eateries... in fact a few items I couldn't eat, they
looked more like something that could eat me.

Sheldon

Dan Abel wrote:

> Although you have to remember that this isn't always Chinese cooking, it's
> Chinese cooking for Americans. I'm told that the menu that only has
> Chinese writing on it is considerably different than the menu with English
> on it.
>
> The other important factor is that China is a very large country, both in
> terms of population and geography. Different foods grow in different
> parts of the country, which influences what gets cooked. I believe that
> different regions of the US have Chinese who immigrated from different
> parts of China.

I realize that they are regional styles of Chinese cooking. The standard around
or years and years was Cantonese. Lately there have been different regional
styles introduced. Perhaps that sweet and sour stuff appealed to our tastes, but
I prefer the spicy varieties.

With various ethnic communities scattered around the world and modern transport,
it is now possible to get a lot of the old ingredients relatively fresh. Toronto
has a huge Chinese community, if I am not mistaken it is the largest outside of
China. There are lots of places to buy Chinese fruits and vegetables.

Sheldon replied:

>> My recipe:
>> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
>> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
>> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
>> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
>> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
>> water
>> corn starch
>
> Yes, a bit of soy sauce.
> Also more onion, like 2 medium cut into wedges (eigths).
> And celery, 4-5 ribs cut on bias.
> And bok choy, and/or nappa cabbage.
> Stock instead of water. If canned 'shrooms use the liquid too.
> Pinch of MSG, but generally no sesame oil in chop suey.
> Garnish with green onion... perhaps a few peanuts

I agree with this (ESPECIALLY the part about using stock rather than water),
but I'd add some oyster sauce as well.

Bob

Serendipity wrote:

> We had great chicken chop suey at a Chinese restaraunt. I tried to
> duplicate it last night. It was close but something was missing. The
> result was good but just a little bland. Can anyone tell me what else I
> should have added? I'm thinking a little soy sauce or perhaps used a
> different oil.
>
> My recipe:
> 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
> 1/2 med onion cut into strips
> ~1 c sliced mushrooms
> ~3 c sprouted (home sprouted and very fresh) mung beans
> 1 227 ml can sliced bamboo
> water
> corn starch
>
> I stir fried the chicken strips in light olive oil then added the
> vegetables. When the vegetables were ready, I added a little water then
> thickened with a water/corn starch mixture.

No green peppers? I would have used a whole onion,
No soy sauce or chicken broth?