Beefaroni or goulash, and when mixed with kidney beans and covered with cheese, some people call it Chili Mac. Luckily, somebody changed the carb to pasta, because American Chop Suey is now one of my favorite meals, too.Īctually, there are quite a few names and variations on the dish. Well, you might be surprised to learn, the dish itself was originally made with rice. Originating in New England, you’d think with pasta and tomato sauce this dish would be called something Italian, not chop suey, which is actually an American born Chinese-inspired dish. Why is it called chop suey? History of American Chop Suey She called it her “Roni Dish.” I never knew it was called anything else until I started researching the dish for this post. I have to admit, she never called it American Chop Suey. She did have her culinary specialties, though, and American Chop Suey was one of her favorite dishes to make.

After cable television arrived, she watched CNN for hours on end. Their adventures during the war were a never ending fount of conversation. He was in the Navy and she worked in a war plant building airplanes. She stayed up late, slept late, and often sat at the kitchen table drinking copious amounts of coffee, smoking cigarettes, telling and retelling World War II stories with my Gramp. She had a cactus garden and a rock garden at one side of their otherwise barren, desert backyard and she read about every book in the Kearny Public Library. She also worked the jigsaw in the wood shop at the back of the house, helping Gramp build their furniture. She wasn’t one of those Grams who wore an apron and made cookies all day. This American Chop Suey recipe brings back so many memories of my Gram.

Original american chop suey recipe