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My Most Popular Chinese Recipes ❤️
Tips, tricks, and recipes for perfect Chinese dishes
FREE EMAIL BONUS:
My Most Popular Chinese Recipes ❤️
Tips, tricks, and recipes for Chinese dishes
What Does Egg Foo Young Mean?
Egg Foo Young is a Chinese-style omelet filled with ground pork and various vegetables. Sometimes misspelled as “egg foo yung”, it is a staple in American Chinese food, and its name comes from the Cantonese language.
“Foo Young” means lotus, as it is said the dish resembles that of a lotus flower.
In this recipe tutorial, you will learn how to make an authentic version of this popular egg dish.
A long time ago, when I first set my foot on the US soil for higher education, I went straight to the middle America. I flew from Malaysia and arrived in the state of Iowa. After touching down, I went straight to a Chinese restaurant and the first dish I ordered was Egg Foo Young.
When the dish came, I was shocked to find out that the American Chinese version was puffy and doused in a thick brown sauce. There was a thick filling of vegetables inside the eggs.
The taste was very bland and unappetizing. That was my first (sad) encounter with American Chinese food.
What Is the Difference between Egg Foo Young and Omelette?
The difference is the ingredients that are set in the egg mixture, or the filling. Furthermore, the omelet is cooked until the egg mixture is slightly brown. The egg foo young is cooked until it is golden brown, which makes it “overcooked” for omelet standards.
How to Make Egg Foo Young
Despite my horrible experience, many people love this egg dish. So I developed this Egg Foo Young recipe. I filled the omelet with ground pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts.
I combined the seasonings with the eggs, so there is no brown sauce on top of the eggs.
Egg Foo Young Gravy
If you are looking for the Americanized egg foo young with the brown gravy, please trust me on this. You do not need the gravy sauce.
If you are wondering if egg foo young is healthy for you, it’s not if you have the sodium-laden and starch-heavy gravy. My recipe is healthier and more delicious, I assure you.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 264 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Egg Foo Young
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 oz (60g) bean sprouts
- 2 oz (60g) ground pork
- 4 medium-sized shrimp (peeled and cut into small pieces)
- 1 scallion (cut into small rings)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (optional)
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 pinch sugar
- 3 dashes white pepper
- 3 tablespoons oil
Instructions
- Crack the eggs into a bowl, beat with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients into the egg mixture, stir to combine well. Make sure the oyster sauce is fully dissolved in the egg mixture.
- Heat up a wok or a pan on high heat. Add the oil. When the oil is fully heated, ladle the egg mixture into the pan. Make sure that you keep the diameter of the omelet to about 4-5 inches (10cm-12cm) wide.
- Use a pair of chopsticks to transfer the beansprouts and other ingredients to the middle of the omelet. The omelet should be thicker in the center. Let the omelet set, for about 3 minutes before flipping it over.
- Fry the omelet until both sides are golden brown and nicely puffed up. Repeat the same and use the remaining egg mixture to make a total of 3 omelets. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition
In my opinion, egg foo young without gravy is like spaghetti and meatballs without sauce.
Hi Thea, egg foo young is not supposed to have sauce to begin with, I mean the real egg foo young. The thing about spaghetti without the sauce is that it’s not edible. But egg foo young without sauce is edible and actually SO MUCH better, as the flavors are already inside the eggs.
Would you please correct the recipe and tell us which ingredients to mix with the eggs and which to add after they start to set? I’m guessing the sugar and the liquids go with the eggs and the vegetables and meat after. Is this right?
Just had to tell my story. First though, yes, king sea is still there. It is downtown. My hubby grew up in Sioux City and I grew up in Storm Lake, IA.
I haven’t tried your recipe yet but sounds delicious. There was a “Chinese” restaurant in Yankton, SD. OMG I loved their Egg Foo Yung! BUT, they were small and fairly thin and had a thin, dark dipping sauce you could use or not. I have never been able to duplicate it, nor found a recipe similar.
Anyway, While in Rochester, MN (Mayo Clinic) hubby took me out for my favorite. (Egg Foo Yung. What I was served was what looked like a huge steaming plate of runny cow poop! An inch of bitter yet tasteless cloudy brown goo over a rubber tire with raw veggies and bean sprouts. Disgusting!!
Your recipe sounds delicious. It will be my first attempt at even eating Egg Foo Yung since that unfortunate instance. SO HAPPY THAT I FOUND YOUR SITE!!!!
Hi Melissa, thanks for your comment. If you go to King Sea again, please say hi to the owner from Malaysia for me. :)
Hi
I precooked the onions, mushrooms and shrimps first…….and then added mixed veg (frozen and diced)
do you mix all the liquids / oils together with the eggs ?
i did and although the mixture looked darker it seemed to work
Yes everything is mixed together.
What a great egg foo young. Thank you Bee.
Shrimp egg foo yung is my absolute favorite. But I have to admit I love the peanut oil gravy that comes with it (not the dark brown sauce). Do you happen to have a recipe for the peanut gravy? If so please share it because only a few restaurants serve that way thanks.
I am loving the recipes you have been posting lately! Reading my mind about the foods I miss from Singapore. This egg foo young recipe is awesome. I’m not a big fan of pork however. What else could I sub in for the ground pork?
Ground chicken.
This Egg Foo Young recipe was a total hit for my family, even the kids!! This is a keeper, “Thank you” for posting this recipe. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Thanks Lisa.
Hi Bee, I saw in the picture that it looks like you add some spring onions, is this correct? Thanks. PS: I love your recipes, I have tried many of them for my family and they love it!
Yes. Thanks. :)
Hi! I’m totally new to cooking stuff, so excuse me if this is a very simple question but:
I have one of those induction cookers with a billion temperature settings. For Asian/Chinese cooking, what temperature range should I be cooking in? I tried this dish out – the first one was too hot and it got charred, the second didn’t look as nicely browned as the one in the picture, though it tasted good.
Thanks!
Sorry but I am not familiar with induction cookers.