Chop Suey (Vegan)

Last Updated on August 16, 2023

Chop Suey (Vegan) is delicious and packed with tons of vegetables and flavor. You’ll want more once you taste its delicious sauce.

Vegan Chop Suey

This vegan chop suey recipe is a healthy vegetable stir fry that is also plant-based, gluten-free (use gluten-free sauces), and suitable for vegetarians.

This is an easy Asian vegan stir fry dish that you can whip up in 15 minutes during busy weeknights.

In order to make this dish as quick as possible, I chose vegetables that don’t take very long to cook for this recipe. The protein in this dish is tofu puffs, one of my favorite vegan protein choices.

You can use another protein like super firm tofu, seitan, tofu skin (yuba)… or leave it pure as a vegetable dish. Here is another article about bean curd varieties.

Here are some of my all-time favorite vegan Chinese stir fry dishes you may also like, like green beans and potatoes, king oyster mushroom with cashews, Chinese water spinach stir fry, and sticky maple-glazed potatoes.

What is Chop Suey?

In Chinese, Chop Suey means “odds and ends” or miscellaneous leftovers. All those odds and ends are combined in a stir-fry of proteins and vegetables with a delicious savory sauce.

Basically, it’s a Chinese stir fry with a Western twist.

The Chop Suey is a vegetable dish that you mix with two or three types of protein, served over a bed of rice or noodles. 

For this vegetable Chop Suey recipe, there are no rules about what vegetables to put in.

Since this dish is called “miscellaneous leftovers,” you’ll end up with whatever you find in your refrigerator that night. Make this recipe your own by adjusting it to suit your family’s tastes!😉

Where is it originated?

There are a variety of stories surrounding the origins of this famous dish. Chop Suey was first seen in America, it was said. As Chinese immigrants fled to America, they brought the famed dish with them.

Some have claimed that it originated in Guangdong province of China. Since most of the earlier Chinese immigrants came from this region. The real answer is unknown, however. 

My Recipe for Vegan Chop Suey

• Tofu Puffs – You can use store-bought tofu puffs or homemade tofu puffs. Other plant-based proteins like bean curds, soy curls, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), seitan, or any mock meat.

• Yellow Onion – peeled and thinly sliced

• Green & Red Bell Pepper (capsicum)- deseeded and cut into strips.

• King Oyster Mushrooms – Cut into chunks. You can use oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms.

• Baby Corn – fresh or canned.

• Minced Garlic

• Mung Bean Sprouts

Vegetable variation

The following are my recommendations for quick stir-fry Chop Suey vegetables that cook in no time:

• Baby Bok Choy
• Chinese Broccoli (Kai-Lan)
• Bean Sprouts
• Zucchini
• Bell Peppers
• Snap Peas
• Green Beans
• Baby Corn
• King oyster, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushroom,s or any other type of mushrooms
• Bamboo Shoots
• Water chestnuts

Vegan Stir Fry Sauce

This vegan stir fry sauce is the basic Chinese stir fry sauce. In spite of its simplicity, it tastes like what you get at Chinese restaurants.

• Vegan Oyster Sauce – This will add an earthy, umami flavor to the sauce.

• Hoisin Sauce– A sauce called hoisin (seafood) contains no seafood ingredients, so it is naturally vegan. Why is it called “hoisin”? Because It was often used as an accompaniment to seafood in Chinese cuisine.

• Light Soy Sauce – In general, you don’t need salt when using soy sauce because it is quite salty. I have another article about Is soy sauce vegan? feel free to check it out.

• Maple Syrup – Adds a bit of sweetness to our sauce to balance out the flavors, or you can simply replace it with 1 tsp sugar.

• Chinese Shaoxing Wine- In Chinese restaurants around the world, Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine is the secret ingredient in almost every recipe! With just a small amount, it adds depth and complexity to simple sauces. But if you don’t consume alcohol, you can simply omit it.

• Cornstarch- It gives the sauce a glossy appearance as well as slightly thickening it.

If you want to know about the ingredients I use. This article is about my favorite brands for seasoning: The magic ingredients in my vegan cooking.

How to make Chop Suey at Home

🥘 Pick the cooking oil which has a neutral flavor, and a high smoking point for high-heat cooking, such as avocado oil, grape seed oil, or peanut oil.

🥘 Use a carbon-steel wok to retain the authentic wok-hei (charred flavor). Or you can cook everything separately in a skillet and then mix together with the sauce at the end.

1. Preparation: clean and cut yellow onion, red and green bell peppers, king oyster mushrooms, and baby Bok Choy. Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce in a bowl, combine all of them together then set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add sliced yellow onion, toss quickly, then top with tofu puffs. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the onion is starting to wilt.
3. Add green and red bell pepper strips, baby corn, and minced garlic. Stir constantly for a minute.
4. Add baby Bok Choy and cook for a few minutes until the stems are slightly softened.
5. Pour the stir-fry sauce mixture into the work and mix well, making sure everything is coated with the sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is thickened.
6. Add the mung bean sprouts and cook for 30 seconds. Dish up and serve! 

What to serve with

There are some dishes that can serve with our vegan vegetable Chop Suey:

• Plain Rice/Brown Rice/Noodles
• Vegan Spring Rolls
• Cucumber Salad
• Cold Tofu Noodles
• Turmeric Vegetable Fried Rice
• Vegan Fried Rice
• Vegan Curried Fried Rice
• Garlic Chili Noodles

Hope you like this Vegan Chop Suey as much as I do. 🥰

More Vegan Asian Recipes

• Vegetable Crispy Noodles
• Vegan Vegetable Spring Rolls
• Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
• Vegan Congee
• Easy Vegan Pho
• Pickled Chilies
• Chinese Stir-Fried Water Spinach
• Easy Vegan Ramen
• King Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry with Cashew Nuts
• Fast Sha Cha Glass Noodles
• Cold Tofu Noodles
• Vegan Singapore Mee Hom
• Vegan Pad See Ew
• Vegan Zaru Soba
• Vegan Yakisoba
• Vegan Yaki Udon
• Pad Pak (Thai Stir-Fried Veggies)
• One-Pot Bitter Melon Soup
• Pickled Daikon
• Sweet Potatoes Sautéed with Five Spice
• Homemade Puffed Tofu
• Best Vegan Fried Rice