Chop Suey - An One Pot Meal

The other day the man was on his office tour, that meant the lady and the kid of the house had to satisfy their appetite with some light and in-elaborate dinner menu. I had stored some extra boiled Noodles from the morning breakfast. Had the plan in mind to go for a stir fired noodles. But the lil one fully denied having the same kind of dish again. So the mamma, to give it new twist to her baby's taste hit the kitchen with the plan to make Chop Suey.

Chop Suey for me is filled with so many fond memories. My dad makes the best chop suey of the world. Ok may be I am on exaggeration but for me dad's handmade chop suey is the bestest of all. Due to my Dad's job profile; we (My sis and me) used to meet him only during our vacation time or some surprise visits from his side. He then and now is around us, means we are celebrating a kind of food fest at home with his experimental dishes.  The vegetables which I hate most, becomes totally delectable and sumptuous when my dad cooks it. His style of cooking is exploring and using the spices/sauces whatever comes handy for him. He mixes that and this and the dish becomes exotic. If afterwards we ask him the recipe he would start surfing and taxing his brain but would never come up with the proper ingredients what he exactly used. Therefore every time he cooks the same dish, It will taste different and always tasty.  Chop Suey, I first tasted and came to know about the dish when one day it was served from my Dad's kitchen. We were not allowed to the kitchen. Only Mom was allowed to assist dad. The surprise dish Dad carried with him leaving the aroma and steam swirling him and we took our position in no time to our dining table to devour the dish. The taste was just out of the world. When the other day I cooked Chop Suey, I kept on telling Lil K that my dad cooks this dish the best. I tasted mine but it failed to get that taste, which only Dad can recreate. But for lil K she thinks her mom cooks the best Chop Suey. Same like me she first tasted the dish and introduced to it too for the first time and embedded it in her mind that her mom is the best cook.  A smile spread all over my face and I finished my dinner as fast I could and rushed to give a ring to my parents to share the memories how it came back to pair with the present.

"Chop suey (/ˈtʃɒpˈsuːi/; simplified Chinese: 杂碎; traditional Chinese: 雜碎; pinyin: zá suì; literally "assorted pieces") is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (often chicken, fish, beef, prawns, or pork) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce. It is typically served with rice but can become the Chinese-American form of chow mein with the addition of stir-fried noodles."(Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chop_suey)

Ingredients:

Boiled Noodles: 2 cups

Mixed Veges:  1 & 1/2 cups (sliced- Carrot, Beans, Peas, Coloured bell, Baby Corn etc.)

Boiled Shredded chicken - 1 cup

Chicken Stock - 4 cups (Pls See Notes)

Garlic - 6-7 cloves

Corn flour -  2 tbspns (heaped)

Water - 3tbspns

Light Soy Sauce - 1 tbspn

Plum Sauce - 2 tspn

Salt and Sugar as per taste

Oil- 2 tbspns

Method:

1. Heat oil in big Kadai/wok. Add Garlic. When it will turn brown add the vegetables and the shredded chicken slices.
2. Cook on a high heat for couple of minutes. Add the Salt and sugar and then keep on frying until the veges look semi soft.
3. Add the sauces, fry for a minute then add the Noodles and the chicken stock. Bring the stalk to boil.
4. Dilute the corn flour with water nicely so that it should not form any lumps. Slowly add the corn flour in to the Noodles and keep on stirring continuously.
5. After couple of minutes take it off the flame and serve hot.

Note:

# To make the chicken stock I just add a table spoon Chilly vinegar, 7-8 garlic cloves, Chicken breast (1 pc), Salt to taste and water. Let the chicken breast boil nicely and then take it off the flame.
# I have made the gravy very less starchy as I thought my daughter would like that way. But Basically Chop Suey looks and tastes better when it has a thick starchy sauce for it.