Recipes

Chop Suey (Beef, Lamb, Pork, Veal or Smoked Ham)

Recipe No. 318 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Beef · Meat · Pork

Serves 100 servings, 16 ounces each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 318 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Meat, carcass — 35 pounds
  • or — as needed
  • Meat, boneless — 25 pounds
  • Fat — as needed
  • Water or stock — 2 gallons (8 No. 56 dippers)
  • Salt — 6 ounces (¼ No. 56 dipper)

Pepper — ¼ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)

  • Onions, thinly sliced — 12 pounds (12 No. 56 dippers)
  • Celery, thinly diced — 8 to 12 pounds
  • Bean sprouts — 2 No. 10 cans
  • Soy sauce — 1 pint (½ No. 56 dipper)
  • Cornstarch — 1 pound (1 mess kit cup)
  • Water (for cornstarch) — as needed
  • Rice, uncooked — 10 pounds (5 No. 56 dippers)

Salt (for rice) — 3½ ounces (7 mess kit spoons)

  • Water, boiling (for rice) — 5 gallons (20 No. 56 dippers)

Directions

Key ingredients

Cornstarch · Soy Sauce

  1. Cut meat into cubes or strips 1 by ½ by ¼ inches. Cook in fat until brown. Cover with stock or water; add salt and pepper. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.
  2. Add onions and celery; continue cooking 30 minutes. Drain.
  3. Mix liquid from meat and liquid from bean sprouts; use as base for soy sauce.
  4. Prepare soy sauce.
  5. Mix cornstarch and a small amount of water; stir until smooth. Add to sauce; heat to boiling point; boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cooked meat and bean sprouts.
  6. Meanwhile, cook rice in boiling salted water 15 to 18 minutes or until tender.
  7. Serve chop suey over boiled rice.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Meat, carcass — 2 lb 12¾ oz or — to taste Meat, boneless — 2 lb Fat — to taste Water or stock — 2½ cups Salt — ½ oz Pepper — a pinch Onions, thinly sliced — 15⅓ oz Celery, thinly diced — ⅔ to 12 pounds Bean sprouts — 2 cups Soy sauce — 2½ tbsp Cornstarch — 1¼ oz Water (for cornstarch) — to taste Rice, uncooked — 12¾ oz Salt (for rice) — about 1⅔ tsp Water, boiling (for rice) — 1⅔ qt

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 318, Meat. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.