First, we go ahead and prep our ingredientsNote: It is EXTREMELY important for this recipe to prep your ingredients in advance because you will not have time to chop or get to the fridge in between. It is a quick recipe and Everything has to be done quickly in order to get the right flavours (writing out of experience of making a mess 😊) Note: For any Chinese dish, the Heat has to be very High, only then will there be a burst of flavoursIn a Wok, heat 2 Tbspn of Oil on High Flame Once the Oil turns Hot, throw in the chopped garlic and ginger and mix well
As soon as the Garlic starts turning brown, add the Capsicum, Carrots, Spring Onion bulbs and Cabbage and toss it well for about 20-30 seconds. Yes! All on High Heat
Add the 6 Cups of Water, Soy Sauce, Chilly Sauce, Vinegar,Sugar and half of the Chopped Spring Onion Greens and mix well and check for salt. Add salt only if required as all the sauces contain salt.
Allow this gravy to boil for about 10 minutes until the the vegetables turn softNote: If you like your vegetables crunchy, don’t let the gravy boil for too long Add the Shredded or Cut Chicken at this stage
Mix the Cornflour Slurry and Pour little by little into the gravy while continuously stirring the gravy so that No lumps form. Note: Add the corn flour as per how thick you prefer your gravy The gravy will begin to thicken
Let it boil for 10-15 seconds and turn off the flame
Note: When my Mum makes Chopsuey, she Adds all the veggies and sauces to the stock/water and boils it directly and all other steps remain the same as mentioned in the recipe. In my case, I just love that smoky charred flavour to my Chinese dishes, hence I toss the veggies on High Heat first and then follow my Mum’s recipe. Also, my Mum is not a big fan of Garlic. She’ll be more than happy to skip it if she has to. So, she doesn’t use chopped Garlic and Ginger in this recipe. But trust me, her Chopsuey is to die for. But, for some reason, we kids always have some keedas running into our system to try out something or the other that’s not part of the recipe, isn’t it!Well, If it turns out good, we show off, if it doesn’t, chup chaap eat it or else, be sure to get those ‘Rolling Eyes’, which I’m sure most Mothers own that look and most kids know of that by now! haha