Shrimp Chop Suey

Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Quick & easy: Shrimp chop suey is the perfect weeknight meal since it’s quick to make and doesn’t require much effort in the kitchen.
• Healthy: Start the new year off with simple, wholesome ingredients that provide loads of health benefits. This recipe is packed with protein, antioxidants, and other nutrients.
• Customizable: Swap out the shrimp for chicken or beef, use other veggies, or adjust the sauce. You can really customize this recipe based on your taste preferences or needs.

What is shrimp chop suey?

Like General Tso, chop suey is a Chinese-American dish. It's a popular menu item of many Chinese restaurants in the west. In essence, chop suey is a stir-fry made up of mixed vegetables, a protein and a delicious sauce.

In this recipe, I’m featuring shrimp, a vibrant vegetable combination, and a hoisin-based sauce infused with garlic, ginger, and sesame.

Finished off with bean sprouts and fresh garnishes, it’s ultra-savory, hearty, and flavor-packed. Feel free to serve it over rice, noodles, or whatever else you prefer!

Ingredient notes

Full ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Chicken stock: Chicken stock is the base of the sauce. I recommend using chicken stock or broth since it adds more flavor, but you can also substitute water or vegetable broth. Try using a low or no sodium chicken stock, because the sauce already has salty hoisin and soy sauces.
• Hoisin sauce: Hoisin sauce is is a salty and slightly sweet sauce, kind of like an Asian barbecue sauce. No hoisin on hand? Replace it with bean paste, miso paste with extra soy sauce, oyster sauce or fish sauce.
• Soy sauce: For an authenic chop suey, soy sauce is a must. If you are sensitive to gluten, use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos.
• Ginger & garlic: No chop suey should be complete without garlic and ginger! They add hearty, savory, and slightly spicy notes. Make sure to use freshly-grated ginger root and minced garlic cloves. I love my mini chopper for easily mincing garlic and ginger.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the chop suey sauce.
• Sesame oil: Provides toasty, nutty flavors. If you don’t have any sesame oil available, you can try adding toasted whole sesame seeds instead.

• Red pepper flakes: Red pepper flakes add the perfect level of heat. If you are sensitive to spice, half or omit this ingredient altogether.
• Vegetable oil: To sauté the vegetables, use neutral oils like olive oil, avocado oil, or canola oil.
• Vegetables: For this recipe, the vegetables include yellow onions, celery, carrots, red bell peppers, and snow peas. Make sure they are all thinly sliced and of similar size for even cooking.
• Bean sprouts: Mung bean sprouts add a fresh crunch to this seafood chop suey. It's best to use fresh bean sprouts, but canned sprouts will work in a pinch. If you can't find mung bean sprouts, soybean sprouts will also work.

How to make shrimp chop suey

Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, then set it aside.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high. Add the sliced onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and snow peas. Stir fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until they are just becoming tender.
3. At this point, add the shrimp and bean sprouts. Continue stir-frying for 3 more minutes, or until the shrimp appear opaque and pink.
4. Give the sauce one more whisk, then pour it into the skillet. Stir the mixture and cook for an additional minute, or until it is thickened and heated through.
5. Serve your shrimp chop suey while hot with rice or noodles.

Storage & reheating

Since it stores so well, chop suey makes an excellent choice for meal prep. Just follow these storage tips to keep it fresh for longer:

• Fridge: Let your shrimp chop suey cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
• Freezer: For longer storage periods, transfer the chop suey to a freezer-safe container or bag with the air removed. Keep it in the freezer this way for up to 3-4 months.
• Reheating: If frozen, let the chop suey thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat it in a skillet or wok again over low-medium heat until warmed through. You can also heat it in the microwave in 30-second increments.

Variations

• Vegetables: Experiment with different vegetables like mushrooms, baby bok choy, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, broccoli, watercress, or broccolini.
• Protein: If you don’t like shrimp or don’t have any on hand, replace it with chicken breast, beef strips, or even tofu for a vegetarian option. Just note the cooking times will need to be adjusted accordingly.
• Spicy: To make an extra spicy sauce, add Sambal Oelek, Sriracha, chili garlic sauce, more red pepper flakes, or sliced Thai chilis.
• Starches: Try your shrimp chop suey with different starches like jasmine rice, basmati rice, white rice, brown rice, rice vermicelli, glass noodles, or chow fun noodles.
• Garnish: You can garnish the finished chop suey with sesame seeds, green onions, or chopped cashews.

Helpful tips

• Prep ahead: Cut the vegetables and measure everything beforehand. The recipe moves fairly quickly once you start to cook, so being prepared really helps!
• Time your veggies: Cook hearty vegetables (like carrots and celery) first. We want tender crisp veggies, so be careful not to over cook. Add delicate vegetables (like bean sprouts and baby bok choy) later on.
• Blanche: Blanching the carrots and snow peas for 2-3 minutes in boiling water will allow them to keep their vibrant colors. After removing the vegetables from the blanching water, run them under cold water to stop any futher cooking. This step is optional.
• Save some time: You can buy a precut vegetable stir fry mixture to make the recipe even quicker.
• Cut evenly: To ensure they cook quickly and evenly, cut your vegetables thinly and of a similar size.
• Watch the shrimp: Shrimp is quite easy to overcook. As soon as it changes color, you are ready to remove it from the the heat and serve!
• Give the sauce another whisk: The cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the bowl while it sits. Be sure to whisk the sauce thoroughly before pouring it into the pan.
• Sauce consistency: If necessary, adjust the sauce consistency by adding more liquid or more cornstarch.

Common questions

Serving suggestions

While shrimp chop suey can definitely make a meal on its own, you will love it served alongside lettuce wraps, spring rolls, or salad rolls.

For a lower-carb version, substitute the rice or noodles with cauliflower rice.

More quick & healthy dinner ideas

For more delicious and easy dishes, check out some of these popular recipes:

• Steak & Asparagus Stir Fry
• Vegan Pho
• Cabbage Stir Fry
• General Tso Shrimp
• Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken