chop-suey

A chef prepares a colorful plate of chop-suey in a restaurant kitchen.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A Chinese-style dish: "chop-suey" refers to a dish consisting of small pieces of meat or seafood stir-fried with vegetables (such as bean sprouts, celery, and onions) and served in a thickened sauce, often with rice or noodles. It is a staple of American Chinese cuisine.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • We ordered chop-suey for dinner at the Chinese restaurant. (The dish of stir-fried meat and vegetables in sauce.)
  • Chop-suey is often made with chicken, pork, or shrimp. (The ingredients used in the dish.)

Advanced Usage

• "chop-suey" as a cultural term: The word is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a mixture or hodgepodge of disparate elements, though this is rare.
  • The festival was a chop-suey of music, dance, and food. (A varied and eclectic mix.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chop-suey greens (n): a type of leafy vegetable (e.g., garland chrysanthemum) sometimes used in the dish.
  • The market sells fresh chop-suey greens for stir-frying. (The specific vegetable used in the dish.)

Synonyms

• Stir-fry: a cooking method similar to chop-suey, though chop-suey specifically refers to the dish with a thickened sauce.
• Mixed vegetables with meat: a general description of the dish's composition.

Related Idioms

• "Chop-suey" in slang: Occasionally used in casual speech to mean something messy or jumbled, but this is not standard.
  • His explanation was a real chop-suey. (Confusing or disorganized.)