April 16, 2014

Chicken chop suey

Platter of chicken chop suey with chop sticks.

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 The weather is starting to warm up around here and for me that means that I start to want lighter dinners. As I mentioned in my last post, it's a difficult time of year for cooking -- no fresh local vegetables available yet and most of our preserved goods from last year's harvest are gone. We did start some seeds this past weekend as well as potted a few new herbs. 

We don't have room for a large garden, but we are doing radishes, lettuces, green beans, tomatoes, and a bunch of herbs in containers. I can't wait for the radishes to come up. We found heirloom French breakfast radishes and I'm hoping they are cute and tasty! They should be ready to harvest in just over 20 days.

But, back to this meal. I've made this dish inspired by a similar recipe at Brooklyn Farm Girl a couple of times now and we really like it. This time I used a green pepper, but last time I used some baby bok choy in its place - both were good. 

You can use both or pack as many veggies into this stir-fry as you want. Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts would all be good in this, too. Stir-fry is one of my favorite warm-weather weeknight meals. They are a cinch to put together and they are so versatile. Plus I love making take-out foods at home. This dish will serve four people.

Close-up of finished chicken chop suey.

Chicken chop suey
about 1-1/4 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce, preferably fermented (or low sodium)
2 heaped tablespoons honey
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 heaped teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water 
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other cooking oil)
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into bit-sized pieces
5 scallions, greens and white sliced and separated
about 4 oz. shittake mushroom caps, sliced
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup white rice, cooked to package directions, for serving

Place the chicken in a bowl and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, and garlic until well-combined. Pour about 2 tablespoons onto the chicken. Then whisk the cornstarch into the remaining sauce along with 1/2 cup of water and set aside.

After all your vegetables are prepped, heat the oil in a wok or other large skillet. When hot, add the chicken and toss frequently until it is almost cooked through. Toss in the pepper and celery and cook, stirring often, for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the scallion whites, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. 

Stir in the sauce and let it start to bubble. Then, reduce the heat to low. Continue to stir and cooks while the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the scallion greens and serve immediately with white rice.

Serving plate of chicken chop suey.

16 comments:

  1. What a simple and delicious chicken stir fry. Its great with some rice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like a great weeknight dinner! I love all the veggies!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love simple Asian dishes like this -- they always have so much flavor! Great way to make veggies equal stars with the protein, too. Good stuff -- thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love a quick and easy stir fry. So many great flavors! Those heirloom radishes sound really good. My favorite things to grow are the ones that can be harvested soon after planting :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooh, this looks fantastic and I love the idea of using baby bok choy in it, too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fantastic dish, I cook in my wok at least once a week, sometimes two and this looks like a real keeper. Just pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  7. this chopsuey looks marvelous...with all those clear steps mentioned in your recipe...making it at home with be a breeze,thanks so much for sharing...Have A Great Day!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Amy,
    Your garden sounds great to me. I have just sowed some seeds for zucchini, minibel tomato, pak choy, eggplant and a few others. Keeping my fingers crossed that the seeds will germinate to begin with! I can sense your excitement with your garden, no matter how small. Mine are all in containers! Wishing I have the space for ground gardening!
    Your chop suey looks delicious, the perfect dish to eat with jasmine rice. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love Asian inspired dishes and this one looks and sounds wonderful, Amy!
    A light and perfect meal for spring.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Stir fries like this are definitely on the agenda a lot more recently! This sounds super!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This recipe reminds me of my childhood. I loved going to Chinese restaurants, which we didn't do very often. Only my Mom and I would go and always at lunch. I was an egg foo young 'nut', but chicken chop suey was second. Thank you for the reminder and this great recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chinese food was a big deal when I was a kid, too. We didn't even have a Chinese food restaurant in the small town where I grew up until I was in middle school. It was such a big treat to try!

      Delete
  12. I love this Amy! It sounds delicious and how great that you can mix up the veggies. I'm always looking for easy Chinese recipes - bookmarking this one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is my kind of dinner...and it would be so easy to swap out or in any vegetables to make it different every time!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you!