New England great-grandparents might remember American chop suey as school lunch or supper at home the day before payday. It is a frugal, homely, hopelessly nerdy dish, completely unlike the region’s small repertoire of exotic fare, including fiddlehead ferns, glass eels, and cherrystone ceviche. It is too mundane to ever become trendy, especially considering its dubious genealogy as the penurious cook’s knock-off of a discredited pseudo-Chinese dish.
We have seen a recipe in a 1930s cookbook that calls for it to be made with rice, which would explain its Asian moniker, but traditional ingredients are elbow macaroni, ground beef, and tomato sauce: generally, lots of sauce and noodles and just enough beef that the eater doesn’t feel too deprived. It is more likely that the name was appropriated because it is a fanciful way to describe a dish of higgledy-piggledy, small-size ingredients. Unlike the déclassé names of such similar mystery meals as slumgullion, cannibal stew, sloppy joe, and garbage plate, “American chop suey” adds a faintly exotic twist to its plebian ingredients.
It is so ignoble that even hidebound Yankee diners and small-town cafes specializing in cheap eats rarely put it on the menu anymore. But you can count on it every Monday at the Wayside Restaurant, between Barre and Montpelier, where it is listed as the “Vermont Special.”
Deluxe American Chop Suey
Now, there’s an oxymoron for you. By its nature, American chop suey is not deluxe. It is spare and stingy. But several years ago, when we wrote our book Chili Nation, we augmented the basic formula with the likes of grated cheese and chow mein noodles and came up with a big bowl of comfort—maybe not quite deluxe, but presentable in polite company. True to the soul of the dish, it is no trouble to make and is easy on the pocketbook.
American chop suey is fusion cuisine: Italian sauce and elbow macaroni, a Chinese name, and Yankee ingenuity.
2 tablespoons cooking oil
⅔ cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 pound lean ground chuck
2 10-ounce cans Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces elbow macaroni
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Chow mein noodles, for garnish
1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, and then sauté the onion and celery until soft. Stir in the beef and cook until brown, breaking it up for a pebbly consistency. Add the Ro-Tel tomatoes and chilies, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Simmer vigorously for 15 minutes or so to reduce the liquid.
2. While the chili simmers, cook the elbow macaroni in boiling salted water until tooth-tender. Drain. Stir the noodles into the beef mixture.
3. Divide chop suey among four bowls and serve piping hot with grated cheese melting on top and chow mein noodles sprinkled atop the cheese.
4 SERVINGS