American chop suey facts for kids
American chop suey
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| Alternative names | American goulash, Johnny Marzetti |
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| Course | Main dish |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | New England |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Macaroni, ground beef, tomato-based sauce, various vegetables (usually green peppers and onions). |
| Similar dishes | Beefaroni, cheeseburger macaroni, chili mac, macaroni and beef |
American chop suey is an American pasta casserole made with ground beef, macaroni and a seasoned tomato sauce, found in the cuisine of New England and other regions of the United States. Outside New England it is sometimes called American goulash or Johnny Marzetti, among other names. Despite its name, it has only a very distant relation to the chop suey of Chinese and American Chinese cuisine.
Though this comfort food is influenced by Italian-American cuisine as well as older New England quick and practical meals like the "potato bargain" and "necessity mess," it is known as "American chop suey" both because it is a sometimes-haphazard hodgepodge of meat, vegetables and Italian seasonings, and because it once used rice, a base ingredient in Chinese cuisine, instead of pasta.
Standard American chop suey consists of elbow macaroni and bits of cooked ground beef with sautéed onions in a thick tomato-based sauce. The dish can be served on a plate or in a bowl, usually accompanied by bread and often Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes grated Parmesan cheese is added after cooking, but historically the dish was seasoned only with salt and pepper and no cheese was added.
