Monday, April 20, 2009

American Chopsuey made healthier

American Chopsuey is another of those fusion Indo Chinese dishes that I mentioned in this post and this post . This dish usually is made with crunchy stir fried vegetables, topped with fried noodles and then topped with the chopsuey sauce. This used to be one of my favorite items to order when I visited any Indo- Chinese restaurant in India. There was something about this sweetish slightly spicy sauce that really appealed to me and there is no denying the crunchy fried noodles had something to do with my interest in this dish too :-)  

I have avoided trying this dish at home because of the frying involved in this dish. When I came across this alternative  on Nidhi's site using baked noodles, I could not resist trying it out immediately. Baking the noodles made it as crunchy as the fried ones and I adapted the recipe for the sauce a little bit and felt it tasted just perfect. With the quantity of veggies I used this turned out to be an ideal one dish meal and since it is fairly quick and simple to make, this is great for those evenings when time is short.The sauce can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for at least a few days too.


A peek at all the components of this dish...........



Ingredients and Method to make American Chopsuey

For the sauce
1/2 cup plain tomato ketchup
1 tsp oil
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/2 cup water (see notes)
Additional 1/2 cup water
salt to taste ( I used about 1 1/4 tsp salt)
soy sauce 1 tsp


Veggies for chopsuey
1 large yellow onion cut into long slices
2 large green bell peppers (cut into long slices)
3 1/2 cups of shredded cabbage
2 tbsp oil
pinch of salt


Noodles
250 gms egg noodles (or hakka noodles)(or even Maggie / Top ramen noodles)
few drops of oil to brush on the noodles

Method 
To make sauce
Mix corn starch in 1/2 cup water and keep aside
Mix tomato ketchup, red chilli powder, 1/2 cup water, sugar, salt and soy sauce in a large bowl and keep aside
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the minced garlic to it and saute until the garlic starts turning slightly brown.
Lower heat and slowly add the tomato ketchup + all other spices kept aside.
Add the corn starch +water to this mixture and let it simmer for a few minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and keep aside.

For the noodles
Pre heat oven to 400 deg F
Line a baking tray or sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place the noodles on the tray/ sheet and brush with a few drops of oil on top of the noodles
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the top of the noodles begins to turn brown.


For the veggies
Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan
Add the onions to the oil and saute until the onions are transparent.
Add the rest of the vegetables and saute until the veggies are cooked but crisp on a medium high heat.


For the chopsuey.
Assemble all three components of the dish in a large bowl and serve immediately.
If you like your noodles a little softer let the noodles soak the sauce for a few minutes and then serve.

Notes

I used egg noodles and since they were light, it got baked very quickly, in case you use top ramen or maggie noodles the baking time may vary.
If you are not particular about crunchy noodles you can quite easily substitute with cooked noodles and proceed with the rest of the recipe 
Corn starch is known as corn flour in India



56 comments :

Priya Sriram said...

Wow Usha! Never thought of making such dishes at home! You are just wonderful! :D

Shama Nagarajan said...

this looks delicious...

Unknown said...

wow.. looks tempting & mouthwatering.. nice clicks...

Unknown said...

recently i was discussing the recipe with friend..she bakes it too..i found the idea really good..am going to try it soon..looks delciious..

Jaya M said...

looks so good and delicious Usha, better the noodles are baked ..less oil is always good ..
hugs and smiles

Chitra said...

Mouthwatering , delicious , sure gonna try this;)

FH said...

Mmm..!! Wish I could get my hands on it!:)

Suparna said...

Hi Usha,
Love American Chopsuey...u r tempting me with those lovely snaps :)
TC

Vishali said...

delicious Chopsuey, looks so nice !

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Infact as you mentioned I dont dare to make this cos of the oil involved... I bet this is worth trying now... Am book marking your recipe :)

indosungod said...

This was also one of our very favorite dishes while eating out when in college. This looks really good.

Gita Jaishankar said...

They looks so spicy and yummy, I too used to order this sometimes when we go out, now I can try this at home :)

suvi said...

I cannot WAIT to make this :)

Sophie said...

The baked noodles sound like a great alternative!

Soma said...

Mmmmmm.. I have not had this for the longest time! Used to love this so much & always ordered this back in India. YOurs look wonderful!

Chutneytales said...

Wow!American chopsuey..This is in my to-do list.Thanks for posting the recipe ,dear.It looks tooo good!

Anonymous said...

Real yummy and professional !!

Finla said...

Looks so so yummy delicious.

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious! Wonderful preparation!

Subhie Arun said...

they looks yummy n spicy...jux loved it

Indhu said...

this looks yummy... baked noodles... that's new to me... a must-try dish!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

looks delicious. i have had them only in the hotels in india.

Cham said...

I am drooling, I can have right away :)

Priya Suresh said...

Tempting dish, looks really delicious!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Wow! I love that u baked the noodles.Really good idea. I've always ahd them deep fried in India and started hating the dish till now:)

Myvegfare said...

very interesting as it is baked, I tried to avoid making lot of dishes if it involves oil & frying. must try as my children love anything with noodles!!!, pictures are mouthwatering

Deepa Hari said...

Looks delicious and mouthwatering Usha....Thanks for sharing.

Uma said...

looks so yummy and healthy too!

Cynthia said...

You know of all the Chinese food, I don't like chop suey. Maybe I've had bad chop suey in the past. :)

Ashwini said...

Never thought of making this at home due to frying..But this is very nice without frying..Can't wait to try it.

A_and_N said...

I should SO make this. I lvoe it too and didn't do it coz of frying!!!

Sharmila said...

This is such a nice idea Usha! I have always avoided the dish due to the deep fried part ... hats off to you! :-)

Anonymous said...

Always such a great idea to convert favorite dishes into healthier ones! Great idea!

Amy said...

Yum! I don't think I've ever had chop suey but it looks wonderful and very comfort food-y.

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

That looks wonderful. Love the idea of baking noodles instead of frying it. Nice click.

Deepthi Shankar said...

thatz healthy for sure

Archana said...

this is so great - baked noodles !! this was my brother's favourite when he was little and just a few days back, we were talkign about american chopsuey which was served at an old chinese resaturant here in bangalore...must try this baked version...looks so yummy

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Lovely.....delicious

AnuSriram said...

Looks lovely Usha... U make me crave for some.. :P

Anu said...

Looks very very delicious :)

karuna said...

this is one tedious dish to prepare. But gets over so fast, coz its so yummy. Urs looks just right. crispy sausy and yummyyyyyyy!!!!

ARUNA said...

Looks delicious Usha.....seeing a post after a long time!

Sara said...

This looks delicious! I love that it's a healthier version.

Vibaas said...

looks yum! i want to try this :)

Anonymous said...

I never heard of the dish before but it looks fantastic = )

miss v said...

this is a fun one that i've never made... thanks for giving the healthy version!

Shreya said...

Hi Usha, I have never made this at home, and it is wonderful see the recipe with a healthier version here..

Recipeswap said...

I'v not made this in ages thanks for reminding me ...........looks heavenly.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Nice idea, will try it next time.

Unknown said...

I just ador american chopsuey! Mouthwatering pic!

Rajesh &Shankari said...

Nice blog! I love Chopsuey and was sadly disappointed when we had in in a restaurant in Indis during our prior. Thanks for the recipe, I will try making it at home

Malar Gandhi said...

I am glad that u posted this recipe...love the idea of healthy version more.

Ana Powell said...

Hi Usha
Sounds delicious.
Great picture x

Anonymous said...

I cudnt take my eyes off this at all.I am defntly going to try this one.Looks simply great.

Unknown said...

Usha...Really baking is a good alternative.My family loves this recipe a lot but I dare not to make it so often because of the deep frying the noodles involved.
I would like to know though, if I follow the baked version, do I still have to boil the noodles before baking? Appreciate your advice.

Usha said...

Thanks all of you for your lovely and encouraging comments.

Shanti regarding baking the noodles if you use either egg noodles or even maggie or hakka noodles you should be able to bake it as it is, no need to cook it. Since these noodles are light they cook while baking and when you add them to the sauce they soften, if you leave them in the sauce for a little while it will soften considerably. Only watch the baking times since the thickness of each noodle is different so keep an eye out to see they do not burn....

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