Beef Chop Suey combines tender bites of golden brown steak with onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, and water chestnuts, all in a tasty and simple five-ingredient sauce. This easy recipe is better than takeout and is customizable to what vegetables you might have in the refrigerator.
How to make Beef Chop Suey
First, in a medium bowl, whisk the beef broth, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and cornstarch together. Set the bowl aside for a few minutes. Then in a separate bowl, toss the beef with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the steak on both sides. Work in batches, so you don’t crowd the pan, and add more vegetable oil if needed. Remove the steak to a plate or bowl and cover it to keep it warm.
If needed, heat a little more vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are brown and the other vegetables are crisp tender. Add the snow peas in the last minute of cooking. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and water chestnuts, cooking for about 1 minute. Move the veggies to the plate with cooked beef.
Whisk the sauce again and add it to the skillet over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until thickened, whisking several times. Add the cooked veggies and beef back to the skillet and toss to coat. For best results, serve promptly.
Recipe Tips
- Stir fry recipes move fast. Have what you need cut and ready to go and close to your stovetop.
- You can use top sirloin, tenderloin, ribeye, and New York strip steak. Try ground beef for a more frugal approach or for a change of taste try chicken, shrimp, or pork.
- Snow peas cook fast and will not remain crisp tender if cooked too long. Keep that in mind as you proceed with the recipe. Snow peas are also better if you remove the string.
- Chop the carrots thin, so they soften a little bit while stir-frying.
- Mirin is sweet rice wine. It can be difficult to find, but if you can, it is delicious and adds flavor with a touch of sweetness to many Asian recipes.
- Cook meat in a single layer so it can sear against the skillet.
- Add a few red pepper flakes, a little sambal oelek (chili paste), or a little sriracha if you like a little kick.
- Try adding other veggies like bell peppers, bean sprouts, zucchini, snap peas, baby corn, cauliflower rice, or onions.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power.
What goes well with Beef Chop Suey
- White rice or brown rice
- Crab Rangoon
- Lo Mein Noodles
- Egg Drop Soup
- Ramen Noodles
- Wonton Soup
- Zoodles
- Gyoza
More stir-fry recipes
Beef Chop Suey
Ingredients
Sauce
- ¾ cup low sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine or mirin
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Rest of the Dish
- 1-1 ¼ lbs beef steak cut in thin bite size pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion cut in half moon slices
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms or white button mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 cups snow peas
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the beef broth, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set the bowl aside for a few minutes.
- In a separate bowl, toss the beef with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the steak on both sides. Work in batches, so you don’t crowd the pan, and add more vegetable oil if needed. Remove the steak to a plate or bowl and cover it to keep it warm.
- If needed, heat a little more vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are brown and the other vegetables are crisp tender. Add the snow peas in the last minute of cooking.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and water chestnuts, cooking for about 1 minute. Move the veggies to the plate with the cooked beef.
- Whisk the sauce again and add it to the skillet over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until thickened, whisking several times. Add the cooked veggies and beef back to the skillet and toss to coat. For best results, serve promptly.
Notes
- Stir fry recipes move fast. Have what you need cut and ready to go and close to your stovetop.
- You can use top sirloin, tenderloin, ribeye, and New York strip steak. Try ground beef for a more frugal approach or for a change of taste try chicken, shrimp, or pork.
- Snow peas cook fast and will not remain crisp tender if cooked too long. Keep that in mind as you proceed with the recipe. Snow peas are also better if you remove the string.
- Chop the carrots thin, so they soften a little bit while stir-frying.
- Mirin is sweet rice wine. It can be difficult to find, but if you can, it is delicious and adds flavor with a touch of sweetness to many Asian recipes.
- Cook meat in a single layer so it can sear against the skillet.
- Add a few red pepper flakes, a little sambal oelek (chili paste), or a little sriracha if you like a little kick.
- Add other veggies like bell peppers, bean sprouts, zucchini, snap peas, baby corn, cauliflower rice, or onions.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power.
Nutrition
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Kim
I’ve made this twice now. We liked it but both times we felt there was something missing. So the second time I doubled the sauce and put extra seame oil in it. The only thing is I useda white wine instead of rice wine. Could that be it?
Beth Pierce
Could be. Everyone’s tastes buds are a little different! Thanks for the inspiration.
Susie
Made this tonight for dinner. Made a few changes..I added 2 8 oz cans of water chestnuts, 1 8 oz can of bamboo shoots, 1 18 oz can of cut baby corn, doubled-almost tripled the sauce as we like it over the rice, and upped the chopped celery and carrots to 3 cups each-the onions to 1.5 cups. Lots of veggies!! Every one said was the best beef chop suey I had made. It definitely helped to have everything opened, drained, chopped, and sauce mixed ahead of time! Thank you for the recipe..will be making again with the changes I made.
Hailey Phillipps
This looks amazing! I’m definitely adding it to my meal plan next week!
Brianna
I love chop suey! But can you believe I’ve never made this? I am going to give it a try.
Alita Pacio
i love the tender beef slice and the colourful vegetables of this recipe. The glossy stir fry sauce is also awesome.
Julie
I made this beef chop suey with cauliflower rice and zucchini! Everyone loved it and the recipe was so easy! Thanks.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tip, Julie! So glad that you liked it!
Monidipa Dutta
This recipe for beef chop suey looks absolutely delicious! The combination of tender beef, crisp veggies, and flavorful sauce has me excited to give it a try. The step-by-step instructions and helpful tips make it seem very doable, even for a novice cook like me. I appreciate the beautiful photos that accompany the recipe – they really help to showcase the finished dish.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Monidipa!I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Kristy Bullard
Love this dish! We actually made it on the stovetop in a wok and then we made it again on the Blackstone. It was delicious both times (even though we all LOVED it on the Blackstone). This dish will be on heavy rotation at our house!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Kristy! I am so glad that everyone liked it!
Nyxie
I love Chop Suey (both the dish and the song) but our local takeaway doesn’t do it would you believe! So I’ll have to try making it myself.
Lesa
Such a quick and easy midweek dish. We loved it! Thanks for the recipe!