Retro Dinner: Tsa Sui

According to The Way to a Man's Heart: Romantic Recipes for Every Occasion, Chinese immigrants who worked as trail cooks for the Pacific Railroad introduced this dish to Westerners in the 1860's. The Mandarin for odds and ends, 'tsa' and 'sui', sounded like 'chop suey' to the ears of all those Irishmen!

Keeping the 'Retro' theme alive all month, I whipped up some Chop Suey for Matt last weekend (no, I wasn't wearing my best dress, kitten heels and pearls; sorry).

So simple to make: strips of chicken (pork would also work), stir-fried till no longer pink, then a mixture of cornstarch, soy sauce, dry sherry, ginger paste and water is added. Stir and boil till mixture is thickened. Add in shredded cabbage, sliced celery, green onions, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts (recipe called for parsley or cilantro, but we were out of both); cook another five minutes, or until meat is cooked. Serve with rice.

Matt liked it, but thought it a bit bland. He couldn't believe the recipe didn't call for garlic (I swear it didn't). If I make it again, I will definitely add some flavor...oils, sauces, whatever.

But hey...I made chop suey!


Blog Party #6 has been announced, and this month? We're going Retro! Click here for all the information, and remember: Blog Party entries are due this Thursday!




Tagged with
Food and Drink, Asian, Retro, Blogging