At the risk of appearing posher than I am, there's this [1], along with other links, I'm not sure if they refer to the same thing though.
[1] https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-chinese-char...
[1] https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-chinese-char...
Just to be clear, that's not related to chop suey.
As counter examples I've found references the char sui chicken [2] and venison [3]. But I think you're right that it started off as pork, and not chop suey.
So I could 'legitimately' order char sui tsa sui? How am I pronouncing the 'tsa'?
[1]https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tesco.com/groceries... [2]https://www.google.com/url?q=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv... [3]https://www.google.com/url?q=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv...
Not really, for a couple of reasons.
The "r" in "char" is a rising tone, which is distinct and different from the "tsa" in "tsa sui" (Mandarin) or "tsap" in "tsap seui" (Cantonese).
> How am I pronouncing the 'tsa'?
The "tsa" and "tsap" are (and I can't confirm this 100% since I only speak rudimentary Mandarin) most likely sharp falling tones, like when you say "Shit!" If you say "cha" with that tone, odds are that it'll sound like "chop" with the p not being very strong. The closest approximation is probably saying something like "it's a" but without the "i" and in the tone/falling pitch of a curse, like "Fuck!"
They're very distinctly different in most Chinese dialects, and Cantonese and Mandarin are distinctly different dialects themselves.
The other reason you couldn't say "char sui tsa sui" is that "char sui" (correctly, "char siu") is from Cantonese, but "tsa sui" is from Mandarin, so you can't really use them together.
Another issue is that foods don't always work like that -- imagine trying to go to the pub and ask for "salmon and chips" someone unfamiliar with pub culture and English might imagine that it's just fish and chips with salmon being the type of fried fish specified (not knowing that you can't specify the fish), or someone else might expect grilled salmon with chips on the side, but odds are you might not get anything at all because it's not something anyone usually serves. :)
People do that all the time. My favourite example is Lake Windermere. Where Windermere is lake in 2 other languages. And half the rivers in the UK seem to be named river in another language.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_river_name_etymologi...
Here, you have two different names that you're trying to use to order a food that doesn't exist, so it's a bit different than something with a shared etymology and history. It would be like walking into a pub (again) and asking for "tako and chips," where "tako" is Japanese for "octopus." There's no guarantee that the dish exists or that the person you're talking to even knows what "tako" is.
Mandarin and Cantonese are essentially completely different languages, so you're just mixing phrases that the other person probably doesn't know.
So maybe I could try ordering a char sui tsa sui, then I can regale my grandkids with stories about how I invented the world famous dish :)
I suppose food is literally a melting pot, of cuisines and culture.
Ps, I think octopus would go better with French fries.