Chopsuey recipe is very easy to do.
It looks and is a “healthy dish”, being made mostly of vegetables; but as a kid back then, I remember enjoying chopsuey because it of its enticing colors and thick sauce. Somehow, it seems fun to eat. Also, it closely resembles the pancit recipe, another Filipino food that I so love eating!
For this post, I am using some shrimps, a few fish balls and pork liver.
This vegetable recipe is a quick one to cook since most of its ingredients are sensitive to heat. If you're using pork, you'd like to cook it for at least 10 minutes in the pan with the garlic and onions. Since I'm using proteins that are quick to cook, I put my heat under medium (nearly gearing towards high) so that I don’t overcook the dish.
It's the prepping for the ingredients that takes a while for this dish. You need to cut several vegetables (at least the ones I have here) in cooking chopsuey. Some add other veggies such as broccoli, baby corn and button mushrooms (not a vegetable, yes.). So, you may need to allot extra time for the preparation when you decide to cook this dish.
Enough of that, here’s how I do it!
Ingredients:
-Cabbage, ¼ of a whole at least, cut in shreds
-Snap beans, 200g at least, cut diagonally
-Carrots, 1 whole, julienned
-Bell peppers (red or green or both), ½ of whole, cut diagonally
-Cauliflower, ¼ of a whole at least, cut in small parts
-Chinese celery (Kinchay) (optional but desired), cut into bits
-Onions, 1 whole, cut in shreds
-Garlic, 5-7 cloves, crushed and chopped
-Shrimps, 4 heads at least, heads detached and bodies cut
-Pork liver, 100g at least, cut in small pieces
-Fish balls (optional), 5 pieces at least, cut in halves
-Oyster sauce, 2-3tbsp
-Soy sauce, ½tbsp
-Water, ½cup
-Cornstarch, 1tbsp dissolved in water
-Fish sauce, to taste
-Pepper, to taste
-Cooking oil
Directions:
1. Put oil in a heated wok.
2. Saute the garlic under medium heat.
3. When it turns golden, put in the onions.
4. Put the heat to low. Continue stirring the dish.
5. Put in the shrimp heads. Crush them against the wok to release more flavors.
6. Add in the liver. It cooks very quickly so continue stirring on.
7. When the liver changes, add in the fish balls.
8. Turn the heat back on to medium.
9. Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir.
10. Add the vegetables one by one – carrots, beans, cauliflower and the cabbage.
11. Add in the water.
12. When the water boils, add in the dissolved cornstarch.
13. Add in the bell peppers. Continue stirring.
14. Season with fish sauce and pepper.
15. Turn off the heat and do not cover the dish.
16. Serve while hot with steamy rice.
There you have it! Easy, right? Chopsuey is good to pair with anything fried. Try it with Lumpiang Shanghai or fried pork.
I hope you enjoyed this one.
It looks and is a “healthy dish”, being made mostly of vegetables; but as a kid back then, I remember enjoying chopsuey because it of its enticing colors and thick sauce. Somehow, it seems fun to eat. Also, it closely resembles the pancit recipe, another Filipino food that I so love eating!
For this post, I am using some shrimps, a few fish balls and pork liver.
This vegetable recipe is a quick one to cook since most of its ingredients are sensitive to heat. If you're using pork, you'd like to cook it for at least 10 minutes in the pan with the garlic and onions. Since I'm using proteins that are quick to cook, I put my heat under medium (nearly gearing towards high) so that I don’t overcook the dish.
It's the prepping for the ingredients that takes a while for this dish. You need to cut several vegetables (at least the ones I have here) in cooking chopsuey. Some add other veggies such as broccoli, baby corn and button mushrooms (not a vegetable, yes.). So, you may need to allot extra time for the preparation when you decide to cook this dish.
Enough of that, here’s how I do it!
Ingredients:
-Cabbage, ¼ of a whole at least, cut in shreds
-Snap beans, 200g at least, cut diagonally
-Carrots, 1 whole, julienned
-Bell peppers (red or green or both), ½ of whole, cut diagonally
-Cauliflower, ¼ of a whole at least, cut in small parts
-Chinese celery (Kinchay) (optional but desired), cut into bits
-Onions, 1 whole, cut in shreds
-Garlic, 5-7 cloves, crushed and chopped
-Shrimps, 4 heads at least, heads detached and bodies cut
Do not throw the heads of the shrimps. They are full of flavors. I crush them like crazy during the cook to release those yummy goodness into my dish.
-Pork liver, 100g at least, cut in small pieces
-Fish balls (optional), 5 pieces at least, cut in halves
-Oyster sauce, 2-3tbsp
-Soy sauce, ½tbsp
-Water, ½cup
-Cornstarch, 1tbsp dissolved in water
-Fish sauce, to taste
-Pepper, to taste
-Cooking oil
Directions:
1. Put oil in a heated wok.
2. Saute the garlic under medium heat.
3. When it turns golden, put in the onions.
4. Put the heat to low. Continue stirring the dish.
5. Put in the shrimp heads. Crush them against the wok to release more flavors.
6. Add in the liver. It cooks very quickly so continue stirring on.
7. When the liver changes, add in the fish balls.
8. Turn the heat back on to medium.
9. Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir.
10. Add the vegetables one by one – carrots, beans, cauliflower and the cabbage.
11. Add in the water.
12. When the water boils, add in the dissolved cornstarch.
13. Add in the bell peppers. Continue stirring.
14. Season with fish sauce and pepper.
15. Turn off the heat and do not cover the dish.
16. Serve while hot with steamy rice.
There you have it! Easy, right? Chopsuey is good to pair with anything fried. Try it with Lumpiang Shanghai or fried pork.
I hope you enjoyed this one.
