Yield: 4 Servings

TheWoksOfLife

Chop Suey (杂碎, zásuì in Mandarin) refers to “odds and ends” or miscellaneous leftovers. It’s a dish combining all those odds and ends into a stir-fry of meat and vegetables, coated in a tasty sauce.
Notes: Sadly, not thrilled with this. Gayle thought it has a funky taste, probably from the Sesame Oil.

For the chicken & marinade:

• 12oz boneless skinless chicken breast (sliced into ¼” thick slices)
• 3TBS water
• 1TBS oyster sauce
• 1tsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1tsp vegetable oil
• 2tsp cornstarch

For the sauce:

• ½cup chicken stock
• ¼tsp granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1½TBS soy sauce
• 1tsp dark soy sauce
• 1½TBS oyster sauce
• ½tsp toasted sesame oil
• ⅛tsp white pepper

For the rest of the dish:

• 3TBS vegetable oil
• 2cloves garlic (chopped)
• 4mushrooms (white button or baby bella mushrooms, sliced)
• ½small carrot (thinly sliced)
• ⅔cup celery (thinly sliced)
• 6oz bok choy, cut into ¾” x 2” pieces, (I usually skip this)
• 1TBS Shaoxing wine
• ¾cup mung bean sprouts (3 oz)
• 1cup snow peas (3 oz)
• 1½TBS corn starch (mixed with 2 TBS water)

Marinate chicken:

Combine the sliced chicken with water, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the chicken until it absorbs all the liquid. Next, mix in 1 tsp oil and 2 tsp cornstarch until the chicken is uniformly coated. Set it aside.

Premix sauce:

In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients, and set aside.

Stir fry chicken:

Heat your wok over high heat until lightly smoking and pour 2 TBS vegetable oil around the perimeter. Spread the chicken in a single layer.

Sear for a few seconds, and then stir-fry the chicken for another 15 seconds, or until it is lightly golden-brown and opaque. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. (It should be about 80% cooked at this point.)

Turn heat back up to high and add an additional TBS of oil along with the chopped garlic. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the mushrooms, carrots, and celery. Stir fry for 20 seconds and add the bok choy. Give everything a good stir and spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok to deglaze it.

Make sauce:

Next, stir up your premixed chop suey sauce and spread that around the perimeter to further deglaze the wok. Use your wok spatula to give everything a quick stir.

Once the sauce begins to simmer, add in your bean sprouts, and snow peas. Also add the chicken back to the wok.

When the sauce gets to a strong simmer or boil, mix up your cornstarch slurry. Drizzle it into the sauce, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a consistency you like. Add more cornstarch slurry mix if you like the sauce thicker. Cook for another 10 seconds to ensure everything is coated with the sauce.

Serve immediately with steamed rice!