Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Nauruan Chop Suey
Nauru's everyday plate: chicken stir-fried fast with cabbage, carrot and onion in a light soy sauce, a dish the island's Chinese kitchens made a staple.
Nauruan · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 10 min
~290 cal · 25g protein · 21g carbs · 12g fat · 7g fiber · 10g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Nauruan chop suey is what many people eat for lunch on Nauru, a quick stir-fry carried to the island by its long-established Chinese community and cooked in the many small Chinese restaurants that feed the country.
It is honest, fast food: sliced chicken seared hot, then cabbage, carrot and onion tossed through a light soy sauce and served over rice, the kind of plate that turns up at home and at takeaway counters alike.
On a phosphate island that imports most of its groceries, chop suey has become genuinely Nauruan, and locals cook their own versions with whatever fresh fish or vegetables the cargo ship has brought.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
12 oz boneless chicken thigh, thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 cups green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp
1/4 cup water or
as needed steamed white rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Heat the oil in a wok or wide pan over high heat and sear the sliced chicken until browned and just cooked, then lift it out.
2
Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and stir-fry until fragrant, about a minute.
3
Add the cabbage and carrot and stir-fry over high heat until wilted but still crisp.
4
Return the chicken, pour in the soy sauce and water, and toss everything together until glossy and hot.
5
Serve straight away over steamed white rice.
Nauruan Chinese-community everyday cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Yaren. What the island still has is the sea. Nauru sits in some of the richest tuna water in the Pacific and licenses much of that fishery to distant fleets, while coastal fishing and the pandanus and coconut on the narrow fertile rim supply what is left of the older table.
🗺️
Nauru. What the island does have is water. The waters around Nauru are rich tuna grounds and fishing licences are a significant part of national income, and coconut grows on the narrow fertile coastal strip where almost everybody lives. Reef fish and coconut remain the local half of a diet that is otherwise shipped in.
🌍
Oceania. The staple crops here were carried on purpose. Lapita voyagers moving east from roughly three thousand years ago brought taro, yam, banana, breadfruit and coconut with them along with pigs and chickens, because most of the islands they settled had almost nothing edible growing on them. The earth oven travelled too, as umu, imu, hangi, lovo, mumu, motu and um.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Nauru
Coconut FishNauru's national dish: freshly caught tuna diced raw and steeped in thick coconut cream with lime, served cool with rice.
Banana in Coconut CreamRipe bananas warmed in sweet coconut cream with a hint of lime, a soft, quick Nauruan breakfast from the Pacific's smallest republic.
Nauruan Coconut MousseA light, cool Nauruan coconut mousse: coconut milk sweetened and set soft with agar and folded through whipped coconut cream, made for special days.
Browse all Nauru recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Wok, Steamer.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Nauru meal
Coconut WaterDrink
Nauruan Coconut MousseDessert
Coconut FishDinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Nauruan Chop Suey?
Nauru's everyday plate: chicken stir-fried fast with cabbage, carrot and onion in a light soy sauce, a dish the island's Chinese kitchens made a staple.
Where does Nauruan Chop Suey come from?
Nauruan Chop Suey is a Nauruan dish from Yaren, Nauru.
Can Nauruan Chop Suey be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Nauruan Chop Suey recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Nauruan Chop Suey safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Nauruan Chop Suey take to make?
About 25 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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