So, how is chow mein different from chop suey?Ĭhow mein is also a dish that consists of meat, vegetables like cabbage or bok choy and a sauce, but unlike chop suey, it is always served with stir-fried noodles. Like chop suey, chow mein has made its way to the West and is enjoyed in many Chinese restaurants as an iconic dish. Although the exact origin is not known, the dish has a firm place in Chinese culinary history.Ĭhow mein simply translates to ‘stir-fried noodles’. This is then served with either noodles or rice, although rice is a more common and popular pairing.Ĭhow mein is often considered a more authentic, traditional Chinese dish and has firm origins in Northern China. There are countless variations of chop suey, with individual chefs creating their own unique recipes within the basic parameters of the dish.Ĭhop Suey will usually contain some kind of meat, whether this is beef, pork, chicken or seafood, an assortment of veggies, sometimes an egg and a thick sauce. The origins of the name should give you a bit of a hint about what kind of ingredients you’ll find in chop suey and how it’s made! The name ‘chop suey’ comes from the Cantonese phrase tsap sui, which translates to odds and ends and the Mandarin term tsa sui, which means miscellaneous broken pieces. Another story states it was first made when a Chinese chef in California who ran out of ingredients and had to cobble together a new dish with what he had on hand, creating chop suey. One story claims that it originated in 1896 when it was served to the American guests of Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang. There are a couple of tales surrounding the invention of the dish. While still having roots in Southern China, chop suey made its name as a Chinese-American dish. If you’d like to have a go at making chop suey or chow mein yourself, check out our online Chinese supermarket to find all the ingredients you’ll need. We take a look at the difference between them here. These tasty dishes are part of many people’s go-to Chinese takeaway order, but what exactly are they, and what are their origins? Chinese cuisine is incredibly popular all around the world, and it’s not hard to see why! With a hugely diverse range of delicious dishes originating from regions all over the country, there are so many iconic recipes that have become firm favourites in the West.Įven if you’re not that familiar with Chinese food, you’ll have likely heard of both chop suey and chow mein.

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