Today we have Chop Suey, and no, that’s not a song of System of the Down.
Chop Suey is an American-Chinese dish, consisting of meat, eggs, and vegetables. Translation means “Chinese ragu”.

Despite the fact it’s already an American- Chinese dish, it has another, even more, American variation, it’s called American Chop Suey that is American Chinese ragu. This is exactly what we’ll talk about today.

Americans haven’t reinvented the wheel, they took macaroni, minced meat, some vegetables, tomato sauce, and cheese, cooked everything in one big casserole and added a few taste accents with Worcestershire sauce and spices. And here is what they’ve got.

The dish works out very hearty and rich for taste combinations. Here you have a fried until golden minced meat and tomato sauce with spices, melted cheese.

The cheese plays the almost main role here. It adds a specific pinch to the taste and texture when mixing with the rest of the ingredients and wraps each of them with delicacy and tenderness. I recommend to serve the dish in the crockery it was preparing. I do this just due to cheese too.

Imagine how delicious looks melted stretching cheese on the spoon, that is moving straight forward to your plate and in a second it is already there.

Also, you can add a few points for its size. Serving ragu as the main course, you’ll easily feed 8 people. And if you remember how easy it cooks, I really don’t get why aren’t you still in the kitchen?

What You Need to Cook American Chop Suey, Macaroni with a Tomato Sauce, Minced Meat, and Cheese

INGREDIENTS:

500 g (1,1 lb) of hollow pasta (penne/ziti/etc.)
800 g (1,8 lb) whole canned tomatoes
500 g (1,1 lb) of minced beef (its preferable to make it yourself from the part with meat/fat proportion 80/20 , for
example, ribs)
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tsp of chili flakes
A few stalks of parsley
2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
250 ml (1 cup) of chicken broth
500 g (17,5 oz) of mozzarella
75 g (2,6 oz) of parmesan
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
Salt, pepper

EQUIPMENT:

hand blender (not necessary)

How to Make American Chop Suey, Macaroni with a Tomato Sauce, Minced Meat, and Cheese: Step-by-Step Instructions🔪

STEP 1. PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS.

Firstly, you need to fill the whole teapot with water and warm it up. Put the macaroni 500 g (1,1 lb) in the clean casserole and when the water is boiled, add 1,5l to the macaroni. Cover and put aside.

Add boiled water to the macaroni for American Chop Suey

While you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients, shake the pan a few times in the next 10 minutes.
Open two cans of tomatoes 400 g (14 oz) (each) and, using hand blender mash them directly in the cans.

Open two cans of tomatoes for American Chop Suey

Mash tomatoes with blender for American Chop Suey

If you don’t have a blender, you can do it with a fork. If it’s not working out, put tomatoes in the deep bowl and mash with a potato masher.

Finely chop 1 large onion. Peel and chop 4 cloves of garlic. Take a few stalks of parsley, wash them, and chop.

Chop onion and 4 cloves of garlic for American Chop Suey

STEP 2. PREPARE THE VEGETABLES

Take a big pot, frying pan or casserole. It shouldn’t contain less than 3 l. Put on the fire.

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of unsalted butter. When it melts, add chopped onion.

Add olive oil and unsalted butter for American Chop Suey

Add chopped onion for American Chop Suey

Lower the fire and cook for about 7 minutes until it’s mild and a bit golden.

Add chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of oregano, 1 tsp of chili flakes, and a half of chopped parsley.

Add chopped garlic, oregano, chili flakes, and chopped parsley for American Chop Suey

Cook and stir for about a minute.

STEP 3. PREPARE THE MINCED MEAT

Place the vegetables near the walls on the frying pan( casserole) using a spatula in order to free some space in the middle. Maximize the fire and add meat 500 g (1,1 lb) in a minute.

Add meat to the frying pan for American Chop Suey

Don’t rash to mix. Using the wooden spatula, split the pieces into smaller ones, but don’t mix.

Split the pieces into smaller ones for American Chop Suey

In a few minutes, while splitting you can start turning it over. Cook until it is no longer pink, it’ll take you for about 4-5 minutes.

After that, add tomatoes that we’ve prepared in the first step. Mix everything and wait until boiling.

Add tomatoes to the frying pan for American Chop Suey

Wait until boiling for American Chop Suey

STEP 4. ADD PASTA AND FINISH COOKING

As soon as minced meat with ingredients boils sieve the pasta. Add macaroni to the pan with minced meat and mix.

Add macaroni to the pan for American Chop Suey

Mix macaroni and meat for American Chop Suey

Add 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 250 ml (1 cup) of chicken broth. Mix until pasta and sauce is the whole one.

Cover and cook on the high-middle fire until pasta is almost ready. It’ll take approximately a half from a time specified on the package.

Meanwhile, dice 500 g (17,5 oz) of mozzarella into 1×1 pieces. Grate 80 g (2,8 oz) of parmesan.

Dice 500 g of mozzarella for American Chop Suey

When pasta is almost ready, take off the cover, finely mix everything and add a half of a diced mozzarella.

Take off the cover, finely mix everything and add a half of a diced mozzarella for American Chop Suey

Constantly stirring, wait until mozzarella melts (for about 2-3 minutes).

Add remaining mozzarella and parmesan, cover, lower the fire and cook for three minutes.

Lower the fire and cook for three minutes for American Chop Suey

Then take the pot/frying pan (or whatever you have) off the fire and leave covered for 5 minutes.

Take off the fire, add remaining parmesan and parsley, and serve right in what you’ve cooked it.