American Chop Suey

Though I had heard of American Chop Suey before, I had never ordered it. To me, Chop Suey is a Chinese dish that consists of meats (usually chicken, beef, shrimp or pork), made with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage or celery and mixed with a sauce. I guess it's typically served with rice but can become the "Chinese-American" form of chow mein when deep fried noodles are added. Though I'm not against ordering Chop Suey, it's not something I crave when I want Chinese food.

Since chop suey in Chinese supposedly means "mixed pieces" I can see where American Chop Suey got it's name. I've actually been eating versions of this all my life...Gorp. Glop. Mac and Tomato. American Mix. I've just never called it American Chop Suey. I swear there was a version of this you used to be able to make with a box of Hamburger Helper. And yes, I usually add cheese to the mix.

This recipe came from the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives book by Guy Fieri. It's adapted from a dish they serve at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is the "blue plate special" they serve on Wednesdays.

This was good. Not fancy, but good. Quick. Easy. Stick to the ribs comfort food. Terrific reheated the next day. I needed more salt (but then when don't I want to salt something within an inch of it's life). I also thought that a full pound of macaroni was too much for just the pound of meat but it really didn't seem to matter. And I wanted cheese. But it probably wouldn't have been American Chop Suey if I'd filled it with cheese. I can totally see this filling up some hungry teens...or a few hungry adults.

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Kosher salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup tomato juice
Pinch of sugar
1 pound elbow macaroni

Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Then add the ground beef and continue to cook, stirring and breaking up the chunks of meat with a spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle the herbs and pepper over the meat, add salt to taste, and mix in well.

Add the canned tomatoes with their juices, the tomato sauce, paste, and juice. Add sugar to taste. Simmer while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain. Mix the macaroni into the chop suey. Serve hot. Serves 8 (eight not hungry people in my book)

Note: I added a few more cloves of garlic. The tomato sauce was in a 15 ounce can so I just threw the entire amount in.

Note: I needed to cook the onions a bit longer than specified though they were fine when I microwaved leftovers the next day.

Note: I served this with grated Parmesan on the top...sorry, I just had to add the cheese!

I had wanted to make this for the 34th Weekend Cookbook Challenge. Alas I messed up on the dates and didn't get this in on time. To check out the entries for the "diner food" challenge go here.

Comments

[Mom]

This was great. Never heard it called "American Chop Suey" before. I too have eaten variations of this dish but I sure enjoyed this one. Cook it for me anytime.

[Jeanette]

This looks so good. And I'm intrigued by it's name! Am adding it to our list of recipes to try.

[Lisa]

I have made it many times but never realized it was called that. I love Guy's shows.

[Kai]

Talk about names....in the Phils. chop suey is the Chinese chop suey, but this American chop suey is a sort of an un-baked baked macaroni for us, and yeah, we eat it all the time, it's a perennial party dish, next to spaghetti pasta with the same sauce, plus sliced hotdogs.

[Chris Lemon]

It's basically Hamburger Helper, but more complicated. It would not be hard *at all* to adapt it to the one-pot Hamburger Helper paradigm, and the macaroni would be better because it would soak up some of the flavor when it cooked. Check this out; same idea, but Mexican:

http://fredsmythe.com/kitchen.html#ChiliMac

[Kristen]

Not at all what I expected to see when I clicked on the title, but it totally makes sense why this is called what it is. Looks like something my kids would love!

[noble pig]

That's funny, I thought my mother only made American Chop Suey and that she made it up. Wow, she had me duped!

[Nazarina A]

How interesting! It is always fascinating to learn how certain dishes got their names! Judging by your picture, this dish is quick, easy and satisfying.

[@makfan]

Ha, ha, I immediately thought of Hamburger Helper when I saw your picture. This recipe sounds pretty tasty.

[Emily]

Heyyyy. How about that Guy Fieri? What a character. His hair scares me.

I think I would like American Chop Suey. I've never had it before.

[grace]

i can't believe there was no cheese in the recipe--it's just screaming for cheese! when he's not annoying the heck out of me, i enjoy guy fieri, and i think i'd put this cookbook to good use.
and salt is my number one staple. :)

[Kathie]

Wowzers! I had forgotten all about chop suey with fried noodles (white rice with the noodles on the top at our house). It has been YEARS. Yum, And the American version? We had that a TON growing up, and sometimes mom added cheese. But we called it goulash--almost identical spices, and the ingredients were spot on. This is being added to my shopping list for the week! ;-)

[Mom]

You know you could use almost any kind of pasta for this dish even the chop suey noodles. This would also be good over rice (minus the macaroni) of course. The sauce alone would be good over anything.

[Ann]

I ate this all the time growing up. We called it goulash too!

[Jude]

I've always thought chop suey was american to begin with, but i don't know. Definitely looks like great comfort food to me.

[Kevin]

That looks tasty!

[Mrs. L]

Mom - This definitely stays in my repertoire.

Jeanette - You'll have to let me know if everyone liked it.

Lisa - I'm amazed at how many folks make this but don't call it American Chop Suey.

Kai - Ah, spaghetti with sliced hot dogs, yum.

Chris - Your chili mac recipe looks awesome, I'll have to give it a try.

Kristen - I totally think this is a great kids dish. I plan on making it for the Godson and his sister next time we have to kidsit.

Noble Pig - Moms are smart like that. Not sure I would have eaten it as a kid with that name.

Nazarina - Very simple, quick and satisfying!

Makfan - And as we had a conversation about this Sunday, YUMMY on the cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. I'm already thinking to make this and add cheese.

Emily - Giggle, I think his hair is great...yes, a bit scary, but it so fits his personality.

Grace - You're not the only one who thinks this really needs cheese. You'll find a recipe for American Chop Suey with Cheese on my blog in the future!

Kathie/Jediannie - Ah goulash, yep, I've heard it called that before too. Quite a few different names this dish has, wonder how many more we can come up with?

Mom - AHA! I'll have to do this with rice and see what we get.

Jude - Definitely Chinese/American in origin (at least according to wikipedia).

Kevin - Thanks, it was!

[peabody]

I saw that episode. Interesting, I think of the chinese kind as well.

[Paula]

I actually saw the segment of the show where this was made. I really enjoy the whole diner food genre, and I'll have to keep a look out for that cookbook!

[Mrs. L]

Peabody/Paula - I don't think I caught that episode so I've been watching the shows trying to see if they show it.