To celebrate the New Year—our standard calendar and the Lunar New Year coming up on February 10th—I thought it would be a great time to share this recipe for American Chop Suey.
It comes from a Culinary Arts Institute cookbook (of which there are many). This one is titled Quick Dinners for the Woman in a Hurry Cook Book edited by Ruth Berolzheimer and published in 1942. (Fun fact: The Lunar New Year in 1942 was on February 15th and was the year of the Horse.)
I’ve encountered a number of chop suey recipes in wartime cookbooks. It was a popular dish even way before WWII! Americans across the country had access to Chinese restaurants (my Great Uncle and his father ran one in Indiana in the 1930s-40s). The food was popular and affordable, and adventurous cooks wanted to be able to recreate their favorite Chinese dishes at home. I have a few wartime-era Chinese cookbooks in my collection which were written with an American audience in mind. It’s so interesting to see these recipes from the 1940s perspective!
What I like about this particular recipe is its deeper background. Check out this History Today article by Alexander Lee about the history of Chop Suey in America to learn more!
And just like the cookbook claims, it’s a quick dinner to make. This recipe suggests serving it with boiled rice or fried noodles. I’ve seen one version that suggests serving it with crisp rice cereal. It was surprisingly good!
Happy New Year! I appreciate you subscribing, reading, and supporting my work!
I have a 1943 cookbook with a similar target audience - Double Quick Cooking for Part-time Homemakers by Ida Bailey Allen. She was a prolific cookbook author too, although I think some of her books were promotions for specific foods.
This is so cool!! What a great connection - sharing this recipe for the New Year AND the Lunar New Year! Wasn't Ruth Berolzheimer such a powerhouse?!