Lunch with the in-laws: ostrich chop suey
My sister-in-law, Ava, bought a new car and had it blessed at the Antipolo Cathedral yesterday. For those unfamiliar with Philippine religious traditions, new cars get blessed in the Philippines, just like new houses. And the Antipolo Cathedral, home of the Nuestra Señora de Buenviaje, is the favorite place to go for this purpose.
My mother-in-law called up early last week to ask if we would be home on Sunday because they would pass by if we were. I said, yes, we would be home. We weren’t thinking of going out after the Baguio blitz the other weekend. I said why not lunch at home?
My original plan was to make my quite famous lumpiang ubod in home-made crepe-like wrappers. I used to make them often when Sam was still a baby and we were living at my in-laws. I haven’t made lumpiang ubod in a long time. In fact, I haven’t made lumpiang ubod since we moved to the suburb and that was almost six years ago.
But it’s been a hectic week. By Thursday, I knew I wouldn’t have the energy for lumpiang ubod and I started thinking of alternatives. My mother-in-law is on a low-fat, low-sugar diet and cannot eat either beef or pork. I thought, perhaps, turkey? Duck? On Friday afternoon, I went to the supermarket and I asked my husband to meet me there. We checked out the freezers and there was ostrich meat. Why not ostrich meat? My mother-in-law has never tried ostrich meat yet. With the right mix of vegetables, it would make a wonderful stir-fry. I’ve cooked chop suey using ostrich meat before and my family loved it.
The trick with ostrich meat is to slice it very thinly and to cook it just until it is no longer red. We’ve tried cooking ostrich meat as steaks and the meat turned tough, dry and rubbery. In short, ostrich meat is very tender only if cooked correctly.
To make my ostrich chop suey (version 2), I chose broccoli, cauliflower, sitsaro (snow peas) and carrots to go with the ostrich meat. No leafy vegetables to make sure that the dish wouldn’t turn watery.
And because ostrich meat has a tendency to become try and tough with reheating, the best option was to serve the chop suey just as soon as it is cooked. Tall order when you’re not sure what time the guests are arriving. Ergo, I decided to cook the chop suey in segments. Meaning? Okay, here’s how I did it.
First, I boiled two boxes of quail eggs (about 4 dozens) then asked the househelp to shell them. I was hoping she wouldn’t take too long so she could help me with the vegetables BUT as efficient as she is with cleaning the house, she really is clueless in the kitchen. So, I trimmed and cut whole heads of broccoli and cauliflower into florets, peeled and sliced a carrot, and trimmed about 200 grams of sitsaro. I heated about 2 tablespoonfuls of vegetable oil and stir fried the vegetables for about one minute. Then, I immediately removed them from the pan, transferred them to a large plate and covered them loosely so as not to let them continue cooking in the steam.
Second, I made the sauce. I mixed together about 2 cups of water with about 1/4 cup of oyster sauce, pepper, salt, sugar and 2 teaspoonfuls of corn starch (ran out of tapioca starch). I let the mixture simmer until thick then I added 2 tablespoonfuls of finely minced garlic. I turned off the heat and set the sauce aside.
Third, I sliced the partially frozen ostrich meat (it’s easier to slice meat while partially frozen) as thinly as I could. I placed the sliced ostrich meat in a bowl, seasoned it lightly with salt and pepper and put the bowl in the fridge.
When my in-laws arrived and the tables were being set, I finished cooking the ostrich chop suey. I heated 2 tablespoonfuls of vegetable oil in a wok, put in the thinly-sliced ostrich meat, stirring to separate them. After 30 seconds, when the meat was only partially cooked, I threw in the vegetables and quail eggs, and stirred to distribute the meat and vegetables evenly. Then, I poured in the sauce. As soon as the sauce started to boil, I turned off the heat, drizzled sesame seed oil over the meat and vegetables and transferred the cooked chop suey into a serving platter. Then, I announced that lunch was ready.
I’ll tell you about my fried and baked bangus a la pobre next time. 
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Comments
16 Responses to “Lunch with the in-laws: ostrich chop suey”
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bloghop lang po
wow! very informative blog and very helpful.. keep it up!
jhenny, ang cute ng tag line ng blog mo hehehehe
mixed veggies always my favorite. why cook the veggies ahead separately? can i cook the meat first then add the veggies one by one?
Oh, I’ve never had ostrich meat before, but I have eaten emu many years ago (back when I was still a non-vegetarian)… a huge emu burger. It was pretty lean and quite tasty too.
I like the addition of quail eggs in your dish. I love quail eggs, although I know some people who freak out at them. I have no idea why.
haven’t tried ostrich meat yet. interesting to know veggies make chop suey soggy. will keep that in mind next time, i make chop suey. i really appreciate the tips.
Connie, keep right on
hello po!
i was just wandering, most of your ingredients are expensive right?
i mean i live in Switzerland but we’re not exactly always buying ostrich meat… where do you buy them anyway?:shock:
i was home one summer and brought two of my swiss friends with
me…
we were craving homemade pizza and went smoked ham hunting but didn’t find anything more then packaged sweetened ham, which just does not taste so good on pizza, as we found out…
any tips where i could find “occidental” ingredients so i don’t have to bring them in my luggage… hehehehe.
like cream, smoked ham and dark chocolate?:razz:
cameron, you will overcook the ostrich meat that way — and it will become tough.
fruityoaty, if quail eggs freak them out, how will they feel about century eggs?
no problem, pomsie.
jamie, bought the ostrich meat in the supermarket. actually cheaper than beef tenderloin. and, considering there is no wastage, it really comes out more practical. pork and chicken might be cheaper but you throw away the fat and bones…
This is a very good tip, Connie. I often cook chopsuey and other stir fried veggies because it’s the only vegetable dish that my kids would eat. Ayaw nila ng mga pinakbet and other native veggie dishes. I use chicken breast and sometimes chicken liver which my kids love. I include quail eggs too, and young corn.
That segmented cooking technique, I believe is also done in restaurants, especially when they serve noodle soup dishes. I think I’ll try it one time.
Hello, Ms. Connie!
It’s been awhile since I posted a reply to your posts, but I always start my day with a quick hop through your posts. It’s my daily fix and keeps me from getting homesick at times. Even when plowing through homework, I tab your post and read through for wonderful relief.
I have seen ostrich meat on the meat aisle of my neighborhood food market and really curious about way I can prepare it. Now you have provided me a wonderful reason to pick up a tray on my next errand. Have you tried ground ostrich meat? Maybe I will stuff the patties with grilled peppers and slices of cheese , and grill them over the barbie. Ms. C, ostrich chopsuey is on my house menu this weekend, in your honor. You’re a wonderful virtual mommy that I could always count on , without having to drive or call when kitchen crisis strikes
Connie, the Recipe Rally! info can be found here
Ohhhh, how do you make that suman? Is that coconut leaf? It’s my absolute favorite suman. I haven’t had any in over 13 years! I can still recall how good it taste though.
If I need to pre-cook veggies I usually just steam them in the microwave instead of cooking them in a wok. To be honest I only thought of that up cos I don’t want to clean up more than I have to (plus, less oil in the dish)
I love ostrich meat, it’s really good when cooked with Chinese pepper sauce.
Shoshana, too late for me. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Rose, steaming is a great alternative too.
hi sassy… dito walang ostrich meat… ang madami dito mga “game” - as in mga ibon na di ko kilala at rabbit meat…
I’ve always wanted to try the Rabbit kaya lang wala pa kong culinary experience sa rabbit… Any suggestions?
Yes yes, I will google it one of these days.
oh keep your mom away from duck.. it’s very high in fat and cholesterol…
nice chop suey recipe…have to give it a try even if I’m not a big chop suey fan cause i can never get the veggies done right! hope it comes out good!!!
auee, i have a friend who wants to go into rabbit propagation for food. sadly, most pinoys think of rabbits as pets and are loathe to eat them.
Mita, yeah, I thought about that too. Ostrich was a much better choice, di ba? Almost zero fat and cholesterol.
…i’m very interested with your recipe and tips…one of my husband’s favorites is chopsuey but I have hard time making a perfect sauce, I’ll try your recipe this weekend to surprise my husband….