This Pork Chop Suey is made with tender velveted slices of pork. Stir-fried with crisp vegetables and tossed in a savory slightly sweet glistening thick Clear Sauce delivering that perfect balance of umami and freshness. Every bite is packed with flavor, bringing back that old style Chinese restaurant flavor.
Pork Chop Suey Ingredients
Pork, Oil, Shaoxing Wine, Cornstarch, Sea Salt, Baking Soda, Vegetables (Napa, Onion, Carrot, Bean Sprouts, Green Onions), Chop Suey Sauce (Water, Pork Bouillon Cube (or equivalent in Pork broth powder), Potato Starch, Sugar, Sea Salt, MSG, White Pepper, Cream of Tartar).
Pork
Use any cut of pork really. From Pork Chops, Tenerloin or Pork Loin sliced to about 1 inch wide and then thinly sliced across the grain. Use about 1/2 lb of pork if serving the Chop suey as a side dish or about 1 lb. of Pork if serving as a main course. Velvet the pork, which will cause the meat to cook up tender with a silky smooth exterior.
How to Velvet Pork for Chop Suey
Use baking soda to velvet the Pork, about 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp per 1 lb. of meat. Usually with about 1 Tbl of Water or more. Set aside for about 30 minutes for pork.
Baking soda is very effective at tenderizing tougher cuts of meat. This technique is best for Pork or Beef. Optionally with Chicken, although I would really limit it to about 15 minute. It is very effective.
You can add additional flavoring such as Sake or Shaoxing wine, both of which work beautifully with pork. Soy Sauce can be added for salt and color and Oil or Sesame Oil can also be added in for flavor and to keep the meat separated.
The below is 1/2 lb Pork velevted with the following;
- 1/2 Tbl Shaoxing Wine & Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
Rendered Pork Fat
Slice off the fat, chop into small pieces and render this out for the fat to stir fry with or save it for other dishes and use a Neutral Oil. Rendered Pork fat will offer up more flavor.
If using the rendered fat, then either Blanch or Flash Fry the meat first and then start rendering out the fat. Once the bits are crispy and browned, you can remove them and discard. The pan will be primed for stir frying.
Chop Suey Vegetables
Chop Suey vegetables usually include ingredients such as Napa Cabbage, Onions, Garlic, Carrots, Celery, Peppers, Bean Sprouts, Bok Choy, Snap Peas. It can include chilies or hot peppers for a spicy chop suey dish.
It’s not really tied to any specific vegetables. Although Napa, Onion and Carrots seem to always be present. It can, however, include a wide assortment of vegetables.
The vegetables in this Pork Chop Suey include
- Napa Cabbage – Chopped into 1 inch sections
- Carrots – Sliced on an angle into thin strips or Julienne
- Onions – Sliced into Wedges or Strips
- Bean Sprouts
- Green Onions – Chopped or Sliced
Use a Tray to hold all the vegetables and the velveted meat in a separate bowl and have these ready to go when stir frying.
Hard Vegetables
Hard Vegetables such as Carrots, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower need to be simmered until just softened before they are stir-fried.
Soft Vegetables
Soft Vegetables are vegetables that can be stir-fried within minutes to soften such as Napa, Bok Choy, Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, White parts of Green Onions. Including any Hot Peppers or Chilies.
For quick cook vegetables such as Bean Sprouts, Green tops of Green Onions. These can be added very last to mix in and cook briefly before removing from heat.
Simmered Vegetables & Pork
First fill the wok halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add any hard vegetables and cook until just tender. Scoop out and set aside. With the Hard vegetables softened a bit, everything can go in to be stir-fried with a bit of fat.
Before you empty the water, add the pork to simmer for a few minutes. Add the pork last, after softening the hard vegetables. This is beause the pork when brought to a boil will produce a bunch of scum. You don’t have to remove this. You can just scoop out the pork and empty the wok out. Optionally you can rinse the pork briefly to remove any scum attached to the pork but isn’t really necesarry.
Flash Fried Pork
You can also flash fry the Pork in a bit of hot oil for about a minute and then set aside. Do this after filling the wok with water to simmer the hard vegetables. Wipe the Wok dry and place hot oil in over max heat. Wait until it hits about 300F and add the pork to fry for about a minute. Scoop out the meat, strain out the oil and return the wok to heat to start stir-frying.
Emptying Out the Hot Oil
In order to empty out the hot oil when flash frying, you need to set up a pot on the back burner, no heat, fitted with a fine sieve. This allows you to empty the hot oil from the wok through the fine seive and into the pot to hold. Then the Wok can be returned to the heat with a thin coating of oil to start stir frying.
How to Stir Fry the Vegetables
Once you have the hard vegetables cooked until just tender and the pork simmered or flash fried, you’re ready to start stir-frying.
Heat the wok up over max heat and wait for it to start smoking. Add fat and immediately follow with blanched or flash fried meat to coat in the fat and cook briefly, about 30 seconds. Then add your vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Keep everything moving, you don’t want any fond to build up in the pan. Instead, a nice clean sauce where the vegetables are still tender.
Pork Chop Suey Sauce
The Chop Suey Sauce is what brings everything together and the thickness of the sauce coating the vegetable is the carrier of flavors. A thin sauce does not do well here or at least not as good. You really need that thick glossy sauce, it makes all the difference.
In Chinese restaurants, the meat and vegetables are fried right there in the wok. Hard vegetables are simmered until tender and then the water emptied. Oil goes into the wok followed by blanched or flash fried meat and then the vegetables. Water is added along with the typical Salt, Sugar, and MSG Chinese Seasonings, and this is thickened very last with a starch slurry.
Adjusting the consistency of Chop Suey
You can include the Starch in the Chop Suey Sauce or Chinese Clear Sauce. Or do the same as takeout with keeping the starch separate and combining it with equal parts of cold water. This is added very last to thicken the sauce after it has come to a boil. You can push the vegetables to the side and tilt the wok to add the slurry and mix while it thickens.
You can repeat this as needed, adding a small amount of starch slurry to thicken to the desired consistency. Alternatively adding water to thin out. No matter how you do it, the key here is to get a nice thickened sauce that coats the vegetables.
Potato Starch holds up much better than cornstarch but either one can be used.
Chop Suey Sauce additions
The addition of Soy Sauce, Shaoxing or Sake can be added to Chop Suey Sauce. I like the old style Chinese and so keep the sauce clear with no added Soy sauce. Shaoxing Wine or Sake, however, can be added for more flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Pork
- 2 Tbl Neutral Oil
Velveting
- 1 Tbl Shaoxing & Cornstarch - each
- 3/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Chop Suey Sauce
- 1 1/2 C Water
- 2 Tbl Potato Starch
- 1 cube Knorr Pork Bouillon - or equivalent in Pork Broth Powder
- 1/2 Tbl Sugar - or more
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt & MSG
- 1/8 tsp White Pepper & Cream of Tartar
Vegetables
- 8 Leaves Napa Cabbage - Chopped 1 inch
- 1 large Onion - Sliced into wedges
- 1 Med Carrot - Sliced thin on an angle
- 1-2 C Bean Sprouts - Added last
- 2-3 stalks Green Onions - Added last
- 1 Stalk Celery - Slilced thinly on an angle, optional
Instructions
- Velveted Pork: Combine the velveting ingredients together in a bowl and add the thinly sliced pork to toss and mix. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. Combine into another bowl the Chop Suey Sauce and mix.
- Hard Vegetables: Fill the wok up halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add hard cooked vegetables (Carrots, Celery if adding) and boil until just tender, Check the tenderness, it should just be done, about 3-5 minutes. Scoop out and set aside.
- Simmered Pork: Add the Pork to the boiling water and mix. Return to a full boil, scoop out and set aside. Empty the water out and clean the wok. Or optionally flash fry as below.Flash Fried Pork: Another option is to flash fry the Pork. After simmering the hard vegetables until tender, empty the water out and dry the wok. Add enough oil to have the pork submerged and heat over max heat until it hits 300F. Add the pork and fry for about 1 minute. Scoop the pork out and set aside and empty the oil out. Return the Wok to the burner.
- Stir Frying: Heat the wok up over max heat and wait until it starts to smoke. Add the fat and immediately follow with the pork. Stir fry about 30 seconds, Add all quick cook vegetables (Napa & Onion, White parts of the green onions if using) and stir fry for about 3 minutes.
- Chop Suey: Turn the heat down to medium and add previously boiled vegetables and the Chop suey sauce and mix through. Include any quick cook vegetables like the tops of green onions or bean sprouts if using. Once thickened, serve right away. If using a Pork bouillon cube, ensure that it is completely dissolved. Optionally you can include the starch and an equal amount of cold water to mix (Slurry) and add in very last after the bouillon cube has dissolved completely to thicken the sauce.