Chop Suey is usually served over white rice, while stir-fry dishes are usually served with rice on the side. Chop Suey typically has a thick sauce, while stir-fry dishes usually have a lighter sauce. What’s the Difference Between Chop Suey and Stir-Fry?Ĭhop Suey and Stir-fry are often confused as the same dish, but there are some key differences.

Add soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste.

Add the chow mein noodles and toss to combine.

Cook the chow mein noodles in boiling water for a few minutes.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and stir until the sauce thickens.In a separate bowl, mix together soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch to make the thick sauce.Add the vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.Add the meat of your choice and cook until browned.In a pan, heat oil and sauté garlic and ginger.Both dishes are typically made with a combination of meats such as chicken, pork, or beef, along with vegetables such as bok choy, bean sprouts, and celery.Both dishes are made with a combination of meats, vegetables, and a thick sauce.Both Chop Suey and Chow Mein are Chinese-American dishes.Chop Suey is usually made with a thicker sauce than Chow Mein.Chop Suey is typically served over white rice, while Chow Mein is served with the noodles.Chop Suey is made with a combination of meats, vegetables, and a thick sauce, while Chow Mein is made with stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and a variety of meats.What Is the Difference Between Chop Suey and Chow Mein? The noodles used in Chow Mein are typically thin and crisp, and the dish is usually made with a combination of meats such as chicken, pork, or beef, along with vegetables such as bok choy, bean sprouts, and celery. What is Chow Mein?Ĭhow Mein is a Chinese dish that is made with stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and a variety of meats. The dish is usually served over white rice. The dish is typically made with a combination of meats such as chicken, pork, or beef, along with vegetables such as bok choy, bean sprouts, and celery.

Chop suey can be served with noodles but we will see that there are some differences when we discuss this later.Chop Suey is a Chinese-American dish that is made with a combination of meats, vegetables, and a thick sauce. So if the question ever comes up again, you are simply choosing between noodles (chow mein) and stir fry (chop suey). Chow mein is a noodle-based dish while chop suey is a mixed stir fry dish. In English, those names mean very little but in the Taishan dialect spoken in Guangdong, the names have significant meaning and give clues to the differences between the two. Well, of course, the names are different. Now that we are acquainted with both chow mein and chop suey, let’s take a deep dive into the differences between the two. Chop suey is most often served on or with a side of rice though can be consumed as is. Chop suey can be prepared with a variety of meat including chicken, fish, beef or pork. Chop suey is often prepared with meat, eggs and vegetables but no other starch element. Scholars have traced the origin of chop suey to tsap seui (mixed leftovers) which is of the Taishan dialect of Chinese which also happens to originate from Guangdong. Chop suey is a preparation method that is believed to have originated from American Chinese cuisine.

Veggie chow mein vs chop suey