American Chop Suey? [quinn222]

You're viewing

quinn222's journal
Create a Dreamwidth Account Learn More

Reload page in style: site light

←

→

I was watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and the host (Guy) was at a place in New Hampshire that had American Chop Suey on the menu and he was totally baffled. He had never heard of it. This stuff was ubiquitous when I was growing up in Boston. My mom liked it and served it fairly often and it was on the school food menu too. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

So, have you guys heard of it? I never knew it was a 'regional' thing.

←

→

There are 26 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I've heard of it -- though I don't think I've ever heard it called "American Chop Suey", just "Chop Suey" -- but only on tv and in the movies. I've never seen it in real life, so I always just assumed it was an ubiquitous fictional construct for "bad overly Americanized pseudo-Chinese food". Kind of like how every phone number on tv and in movies starts with the exchange 555-.

Oh, and since you're trying to pinpoint the regionality of this -- I've spent 90% of my life in the New York metro area, and went to college in the Boston area.

Edited Date: 2009-06-28 02:55 am (UTC)

[link] [reply]

Chop Suey is a totally different thing. American Chop Suey isn't even vaguely Asian. It's macaroni with ground beef and tomatoes.

[link] [parent] [reply]

Ooooookay. From what I'd heard of Chop Suey, it really isn't even vaguely Asian either, lol!

But now I'm really confused. So then what is Chop Suey?

I've never heard of anything actually being called either one in real life, and as I said, I'd never heard of the 'American' version at all.

To me the dish you described is pasta bolognese (or pasta with meat sauce, or pasta with meat ragu). We certainly had that served in the dining halls at my Boston-area college (mmm, I miss them... the food was always good), but they never called it American Chop Suey.

Fascinating.

Edited Date: 2009-06-28 03:40 am (UTC)

[link] [parent] [reply]

It's not bolognese either (that's actually very good). I can't really describe it correctly (especially since I don't like it) but there isn't any sauce involved. It really dry and it doesn't have much in the way of seasoning either. It's pretty much just elbow macaroni, ground beef and chopped up tomatoes.

ETA: I tried to find a recipe online but most are not like what I remember, too much stuff in them. The one on the TV show was very similar to what my mom made.

Edited Date: 2009-06-28 03:45 am (UTC)

[link] [parent] [reply]

Okay, so I just looked both up online.

Most of the descriptions I found of the ACS sounded and looked like mediocre bolognese (and for what it's worth, i.e. not much!, most of the online definitions/recipes I found said that there is a thick tomato sauce involved).

And apparently Chop Suey is not only not fictional (as I had thought) but is a bit more authentic than even the fictional accounts implied. Lol!

ETA: Bwahahaha! Looks like we were both googling at the same time.
~~The one on what tv show?~~ Duh, never mind. The show you mentioned in the original post.

Edited Date: 2009-06-28 03:58 am (UTC)

[link] [parent] [reply]

Yeah, it's a fun show. The whole sauce thing is definitely not what we had. I think my hatred for it stems from how dry it is. I'd say maybe my mom made a bad version of it (though she is a good cook) but everywhere I ever saw it it was the same. They showed big plates of the stuff on this show and it looked just like hers.

[link] [parent] [reply]

You poor thing. Sorry you were so often subjected to something you hated.

Though I must say, I can see not particularly liking it, but it sounds too benign to warrant hatred. Pasta + ground beef + tomatoes by themselves would be fine for me. Not great, but okay. And if it's too dry, a little olive oil would probably take care of that. I can see how your mom's version of it wouldn't be as good as some of the other versions I saw online though.

Interesting this. See, you learn something new every day! Thanks!

[link] [parent] [reply]

I went to college in Waltham, and it was on the food service menu. It was actually one of the more palatable items LOL!

[link] [reply]

nope... not a thing i've ever seen, heard, smelled or tasted
in my mid-west, detroit grwoing up

[link] [reply]

Lucky you. It was terrible. To this day every now and then my mom mentions making it but since she knows I loathe it she doesn't when I am there.

[link] [parent] [reply]

so, what is it exactly?

[link] [parent] [reply]

See our thread above.

[link] [parent] [reply]

ah, i see
that sounds like what my school tried to pass off as goulash (and it was gross, but that's school food for you)

[link] [parent] [reply]

My husband is from New Hampshire and I was introduced to this by him. His mom made it and it was so good. There is something about the way her noodles plumped that just rocked.

[link] [reply]

The recipe I use is a bit different because I like a to add spices to mine.

1 box of macaroni
1 lb of very lean group beef
1 cam of tomatoes
2 small cans of v8
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stock
1 cup of beef stock
and a bunch of fresh herbs. I use basil, thyme, a bit of parsley

Dice the carrot, celery and onion into small cubes
Brown ground beef and cook veggies until fairly soft in a large skillet
add can of tomatoes, V8 and beef stock. simmer and add fresh herbs.

Boil some water and add the noodles to the pot
Boil per directions on box drain and set aside until carrots and celery are cooked in the tomatoe mixture.

add the noodles to the tomato sauce set aside for 5 minutes and serve.

I usually like to make mine a night ahead it's really great.

[link] [parent] [reply]

I never heard of it until I moved to Maine, which is where I am currently. It is always one of the items at a church Bean Supper. That's another experience everyone should have. Church suppers are a riot up here. NE churches are soooo liberal. Anything goes! ;-)

Later,
Daphne

[link] [reply]

I was born & raised in Southern California, and I've never heard of this before either. Don't think I missed much.

[link] [reply]

Never heard of it before. In TN my whole life. :)

Edited Date: 2009-06-28 04:27 am (UTC)

[link] [reply]

It sounded familiar to me so I dug out my mom's Minnesota church cookbook from the 60s.

American Chop Suey. Macaroni, hamburger, celery, grated cheese, soy sauce, water and 2 cans of Campbell's tomato soup. I guess they considered it Asian because of the soy sauce. LOL You browned the meat and celery and then baked the whole thing in the oven.

I remember eating this but my mom called it spagetti.

[link] [reply]

wow. your mom's recipe sounds gross. :(
I've heard of "chop suey" but the version I know is the fake-asian version with soy sauce, chopped and sauteed beef &/or pork, assorted veggies (or at least celery & onion) heated together and spooned over white rice.

It's a "family favorite" for both my german/irish AND my polish relatives.

In the interest of regional knowledge of "American Chop Suey" I'm from Wisconsin, my mom's family comes from Chicago.

[link] [reply]

I asked Mom and she said she didn't use the soup, she used tomato sauce instead and also added some spices. I remember that I liked it, the cheese smoothed out the flavor.

I remember having the chop-suey that you described too. It sounds pretty gross now.

[link] [parent] [reply]

I live in the northeast so I thought, like you, that it was all over -- this was a bit of a surprise to me too.

[link] [reply]

That sounds like "Beefaroni" standard school cafeteria fare in Southern California during the '70's. Not exactly warmly remembered on my part.

[link] [reply]

I loved "macaroni and beef" when I was a kid (I think that is what we called in Philly, I do not remember hearing it called "American Chop Suey"). I have not tasted it in more than 30 years but I remember it fondly.

[link] [reply]

I grew up in Ohio and have never heard of it. Sounds like what people used to call Johnny Marzetti.

[link] [reply]

I am from Chicago and currently living in Maine. I've lived a few other places along the way and Maine is the only place I've ever heard the American Chop Suey thing. It's one of the many, many things that bug the shit out of me living here and make me want to run back home.

As stated above, it's not remotely Asian and more like goulash. I have my grandmother's recipe for goulash. I've cooked that for the "natives" and they love it. They call it that stupid name, but whatever. I refuse to. To further add insult to injury, a lot of folks like to fry it the next day and eat it that way. Yuck. To each his own, I guess.

With lean ground beef, peppers, onions, (celery if desired), tomatoes, cheese, spices, elbow mac and proper cooking, it can be very good. It can also be a huge disaster. I will never understand where the American Chop Suey thing came from though.

[link] [reply]

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2	3 1	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29 1	30	31

quinn222

American Chop Suey?

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

January