Thai Green Curry Chop Suey

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What is Thai Green Curry Chop Suey?

This Thai Green Curry Chop Suey is a fusion of Thai green curry and Chinese-American chop suey. Eaten together, this Thai green curry chop suey creates a dish dancing with flavours on your tongue.

Chop Suey is actually a stir-fried vegetable dish served generally with noodles or rice, depending on which part of the world you’re eating it in! Originating from San Francisco, chop suey comes from the Cantonese phrase “tsap seui” which means “miscellaneous leftovers”. In the past, chop suey was made with leftover ingredients to form the dish; however, today, you will find many versions of this traditional recipe around the world.

Thai green curry on the other hand is a fragrant, creamy, wholesome coconut based curry originating from Thailand that is super rich in flavours of lemongrass, green chillies and a lot of other flavourful ingredients and spices. Thai curry is one of the most popular Thai dishes eaten worldwide today!

Generally, Thai green curry is served with jasmine rice. However, I decided to bring this classic dish a notch further by serving it with some deep fried noodles that I have grown up eating with some vegetable chop suey. Hence, that’s why I call this Thai Green Curry Chop Suey. My family loves eating this, I’m sure yours will love it too!

What type of noodles should I use for the chop suey?

You can use any brand of instant noodles that takes 2-3 minutes to cook! I wouldn’t recommend trying this recipe with other types of noodles including soba, udon or even spaghetti! You can use fresh noodles if you want to, but instant noodles work fine.

Is it necessary to deep fry the noodles?

Yes absolutely, frying the noodles makes them crispy and gives them an amazing texture when you eat them with the Thai curry. I’ve never tried eating Thai curry with boiled noodles so I’m not quite sure how that would taste.

I can’t find lemongrass, what can I substitute it with?

Lemon grass is a vital ingredient while making Thai curry. You can’t skip it! However, you can still make this recipe by substituting it with lemon zest and lime zest, as well as lime leaves. Although you won’t end up with a similar taste, nor an intense fragrance that you would normally get, this is the closest substitute that you can use if you can’t find lemongrass.

Is this an authentic Thai green curry recipe?

This is not a traditional or authentic Thai green curry recipe that you would find in Thai restaurants. I did not intend to create an authentic version of Thai green curry through this recipe. This recipe is just a quick and simple version of Thai green curry that uses lesser ingredients. Thai Green Curry Chop Suey is my modern take on two of my favourite asian cuisines that I have eaten all these years.

How do you attain the green colour in the Thai curry?

The green colour in the Thai curry comes from the ingredients that you use to make the thai curry paste, mainly the green chillies and coriander. When you mix the Thai curry paste with coconut milk, it should give you a nice green colour.

What vegetables can I use for this recipe?

I’ve used my favourite vegetables including peppers, baby corn, mushrooms and peas for this recipe. You can literally use any vegetables you want. However, do not add too many varieties of vegetables either as your curry will end up looking like vegetable stew.

Can I use fresh coconut milk instead of canned coconut milk?

Yes you can! However, just make sure whatever kind of coconut milk you are using, make sure it is thick! If your coconut milk is thin, runny and has too much water content, your Thai curry will not be very thick and creamy.

How should I serve the Thai green curry?

Serve the Thai green curry with the chop suey (noodles) topped with black sesame seeds and fried onions. Ensure you crush the noodles before pouring the Thai green curry over it. If you are health conscious or don’t like deep fried noodles, you can also serve it with some jasmine rice, quinoa or couscous. However, you are certainly missing out on the fun!

Can I cook the Thai curry in advance and store it?

You can prepare the chop suey (noodles) in advance and store it in an airtight container for up to a week before serving them with the Thai curry. In case they become soft, just pop them into the oven for 5 to 10 minutes at 200 degrees celsius and they’ll become crispy again.

For the Thai curry paste, you can prepare it in advance and store it in the freezer for future use. And for the curry itself, you can also prepare it in advance and store it in the freezer. When you want to eat it, just bring it back to room temperature and reheat it.

Any substitute for the ingredients mentioned?

You can use lime leaves instead of kaffir lime leaves to make the Thai curry.
If you can’t find lemongrass anywhere, substitute it with lemon zest and lime zest, as well as lime leaves. Although you won’t end up with a similar taste, nor an intense fragrance, this is probably the closest substitute to lemongrass.
Brown sugar can be replaced by regular sugar to make the curry paste.
You can use spring onions instead of fried onions for the topping.
You can substitute black sesame seeds with white sesame seeds for the topping.

Any cooking tips for this recipe?

Do not overcook the noodles when you are boiling them.
If you don’t want to deep fry the tofu, simply skip this step. Add the tofu cubes as it is into the Thai curry later on.
Add a dash of water to the Thai curry if it’s too thick.
Add in more coconut milk into the curry if you want that extra coconut flavour.