chop suey

/ˈtʃɑp ˌsui/

/tʃɒp ˈsui/

Chop suey is a popular dish served in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. — in fact, it may have been invented in the U.S. If you order chop suey, you'll get some kind of meat and vegetables in a savory sauce, served over rice.

Chop suey is from the Cantonese tsap sui, "odds and ends or miscellaneous bits." The dish includes meat or fish, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and other vegetables cooked in a wok. There are conflicting stories about its invention, some tracing its origins back to China, and others tying it to immigrant railroad workers or Chinese restaurant owners feeding hungry miners during the gold rush. In any event, it was inspired by leftovers and remains popular in North America.

Definitions of chop suey

1. noun

   meat or fish stir-fried with vegetables; seasoned with ginger, garlic, and soy sauce; served with rice
   type of:

   dish

   a particular item of prepared food