Chop Suey

As my Chinese friend Connie would say, this is “Aussie Chinese”, actually not only is it “Aussie Chinese”, it is also 1960’s “Aussie Chinese”. My family has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, it’s comfort food to us all. In times like these, when many people are struggling to make ends meet, recipes like these are important. It’s cheap, easy to make and best of all makes a tonne, so leftovers for days.

Ingredients

• 500 gm minced beef
• 50gm butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 1/4 white cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp – 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 pkt chicken noodle soup mix
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked, white rice
• Soy sauce

Directions

Heat a large casserole dish over medium to high heat, give it a little drizzle of oil if its not non stick. Brown the beef well and remove to a bowl, draining the fat.

Return the casserole to the heat and reduce to medium, add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the onion, celery, cabbage, peas and carrot, cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add salt and pepper to season, curry powder to taste and add back in the beef, mix well.

Add chicken noodle soup mix, water and rice. Cook stirring occasionally until it comes to the boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Stir in the soy sauce to taste.

Serve with your condiment of choice, extra soy sauce, tomato sauce or sriracha are all good options. I like to have buttered toast on the side but it’s not really necessary. Leftovers are excellent in the jaffle maker for lunches or after school snacks. Tell me did your family have it’s own version or Chop Suey? As always if you do make this recipe please leave me a comment to let me know how you got on. It’s not fancy food but it is comfort food and that’s what I think we all need at this time. Enjoy. Sheryl x