Chop Suey (杂碎) – Vegetable Stir-Fry with Chicken and Bean Sprouts

Chop suey is the vegetable dish of Chinese restaurants: chicken, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and mushrooms from the wok in a light, thickened sauce. It became known in the 19th century through Chinese restaurants in the USA run by Cantonese immigrants. The name comes from Cantonese and roughly means "mixed bits". So you are cooking a Chinese-American dish.

By Laura Chen· October 27, 2026

40 Mintotal

4servings

300kcal

ChineseCuisine ›

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You need high heat and short cooking times. Stir-fry the chicken first and take it out, then the vegetables go into the wok. Add the sprouts at the end so they stay crisp. You thicken the broth, soy sauce and oyster sauce with starch.

With noodles instead of rice you end up at fried noodles with chicken and vegetables. For more heat, try kung pao chicken, and for sweet and sour, sweet and sour chicken.

Chop Suey (杂碎) – Vegetable Stir-Fry with Chicken and Bean Sprouts

Name: Chop Suey (杂碎) – Vegetable Stir-Fry with Chicken and Bean Sprouts
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500 g chicken breast fillet; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (Chinese cooking wine) or dry sherry; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion; 1 carrot; 2 celery stalks; 150 g white mushrooms; 150 g napa cabbage; 1 jar bamboo shoots (drained weight 140 g); 200 g mung bean sprouts; 2 garlic cloves; 15 g ginger; 250 ml chicken broth; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

25 minutes

Cook time

15 minutes

Calories

300

Cuisine

Chinese

Ingredients

For the chicken:

500 g chicken breast fillet
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (Chinese cooking wine) or dry sherry
1 tbsp cornstarch

For the vegetables:

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
150 g white mushrooms
150 g napa cabbage
1 jar bamboo shoots (drained weight 140 g)
200 g mung bean sprouts
2 garlic cloves
15 g ginger

For the sauce:

250 ml chicken broth
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

Cut the chicken into thin strips, 5 mm thick. Mix it with the soy sauce, rice wine and cornstarch and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Cut the onion and napa cabbage into strips, the carrot and celery into thin diagonal slices, and slice the mushrooms. Rinse the bamboo shoots and sprouts in a sieve. Finely chop the garlic and ginger.
Stir the broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil together in a bowl.
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in the wok over high heat. Stir-fry the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned all over and white inside, then take it out.
Add 1 tbsp oil to the wok and stir-fry the onion, carrot and celery for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic and ginger and keep stir-frying for 2 minutes.
Add the napa cabbage and bamboo shoots and toss for 1 minute.
Stir the sauce again, pour it into the wok and let it come to a boil until it thickens and turns glossy.
Add the chicken and sprouts and heat everything for 1 minute, so the sprouts stay crisp. Serve the chop suey with rice.

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Chop Suey (杂碎) – Vegetable Stir-Fry with Chicken and Bean Sprouts

Ingredients

For the chicken:

For the vegetables:

For the sauce:

Instructions

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