Chop Suey Sandwich

[WFordII]

I read that Chinese immigrants who came over during the 1849 gold rush also brought many of their regional cuisines. They established restaurants and Westernized many of their recipes, such as the Chinese American dish chop suey.

In the 1920s, chop suey was so popular that a Chinese chef created the chop suey sandwich in New Enland. These "sandwiches" were a hit, especially in Fall River. They continue to be big sellers.

It's reasonable to assume that the Borden family had at least heard of chop suey. Since Lizzie didn't pass away until 1927, she may have ordered a chop suey sandwich occasionally. Then again, the word "chop" may have turned her away. Who knows?

[camgarsky4]

How right you are! I searched newspapers.com for Chop Suey articles in Fall River in the '20's. There were quite a few and they did reference a chop suey sandwich.

All the articles emphasized that chop suey was an invention by Chinese restaurant owners for the American consumer and wouldn't be found on a menu in China. That said, in the '20's the chop suey had been exported to German restaurants also.

I haven't had chop suey in years, but feeling a little hankering for it now!

[WFordII]

Me too! That little bit of research brought back memories of my mother making chop suey. In fact, I live in the city where some of the first frozen Chinese American meals were made. The owner of the company used his technology for making frozen egg rolls and created pizza rolls.

[Kat]

This is what I remember, from the Forum, by mbhenty, July, but it’s not a chop suey sandwich- so, this is different?
Partial Quote:

“I'm not sure how many people on the forum are familiar with the Chow Mein Sandwich.
It was invented in Fall River.

Soon it spread to many New England towns. A Chow Mein Sandwich was chow mein noodles with shrimp, chicken, etc., over a soft hamburger bun. They were real messy, but very, very good. When I was a child a large chow mein sandwich was 15 cents plain and 25 cents with meat. I grew up thinking everyone was familiar with the Chinese Chow Mein Sandwich. As an adult I soon discovered that no one out of state knew what it was. Below is some information about the Chow mein sandwich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chow_mein_sandwich

The three most famous Chinese restaurants in Fall River when I was growing up and which we frequented often, was China City, Mark You, Mee Sum and the famous China Royal.

Below is the famous Mark You Restaurant and its famous Dragon sign. Mark you is still in business. The same family ran it for something like 50 years. Then it went out of business and it closed for a couple of years. Someone purchased the sign and it disappeared not to long ago. I remember it being up there for over 50 years. Now different people own the place.”

[WFordII]

Yes, I think they are the same. Do you think Lizzie may have eaten any in the 20s?

[Kat]

Are you going to put the chow mein sandwich in your cookbook?

[WFordII]

Yes, I am! Lol