Egg Foo Young is a Chinese egg omelette dish made with vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and bell peppers. Served with a simple and flavorful gravy topping.
Egg Foo Young is a quick and easy weeknight meal. It is simple, and is a perfect way to use a variety of fresh vegetables. In many cases, Egg Foo Young is considered a leftovers dish!
This dish is a type of omelette and also described as an egg pancake by some. Traditionally, this recipe is made with bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, peas, pepper, and onions.
The recipe can be made with meat as well, like shrimp, chicken, or pork.
Egg Foo Young is often served with a gravy for topping. The gravy is made with broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch.
Since Egg Foo Young, has American influence a western version, like this one, developed. It is an easy dish to make to help transition into more traditional Chinese recipes in your recipe arsenal.
Ingredients
- large eggs
- bean sprouts- fresh bean sprouts are best, and I prefer using mung bean sprouts.
- mushrooms- a common white mushroom works well.
- soy sauce- I use regular soy sauce in this recipe, reduced sodium soy sauce is a fine substitution.
- sesame oil
- white onion- I prefer the sharper white onion to a sweeter yellow or red variety.
- matchstick carrots- these can be purchased pre-cut at the store, or they can be cut at home. If chopping at home, aim for 1- to 2-inch pieces that are ⅛-inch by ⅛-inch thick.
- red bell pepper- orange or yellow will work, but the red has a nice sweet flavor.
- chicken, vegetable, or beef broth
- cornstarch
Instructions
- Place eggs into a medium bowl and beat till combined.
- Add mushrooms, bean sprouts, and soy sauce to the eggs. Set aside.
- In a non-stick skillet, add a tbsp of sesame oil and heat over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, and bell peppers. Cook, while stirring every so often, till vegetables are tender.
- Remove veggies from heat and allow them to cool for a few minutes. Add to the egg mixture and stir.
- Add a little oil (¼-1/2 tsp) to a medium skillet over medium heat. When skillet has warmed start to make the omelettes.
- Use ⅓ cup portions of the egg mixture. Allow it to cook 2-3 minutes, flip, and allow it to cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat this process to use all of the egg mixture.
- Serve over rice with gravy.
History
Egg Foo Young is an egg dish, or omelette dish that uses a variety of different ingredients. The name is Cantonese and means "Hibiscus egg".
This dish is traditionally thought of as a Chinese dish but, it is popular in North American, Europe, and Asia.
Traditionally, the dish is made with beaten eggs and minced ham, but it is now common to make it with vegetables and other meats.
In Asia, it is traditional to serve the omelette with a sweet and sour sauce. However, chef in the United States serve the Egg Foo Young with a brown gravy.
There is even a regional dish called "St. Paul Sandwich". The sandwich is made with Egg Foo Young, mayo, pickles, and garnishes between two slices of bread!
Variations
This recipe does not use meat, but it is very common to see different meats used in Egg Foo Young.
Meats used to make Egg Foo Young are:
- chicken
- sausage
- pork
- shrimp
- beef
- ham
- lobster
This recipe pictured uses chicken broth for the gravy, but vegetable of beef broth will work well in place of chicken broth.
This Egg Foo Young uses bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers for the vegetables. It is common to find different varieties of vegetables with each preparation. Other options include:
- green onion
- peas
- water chestnuts
- bamboo shoots
- sliced cabbage
Related recipes
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📋 Recipe
Egg Foo Young
Ingredients
For the Egg Foo Young
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup bean sprouts, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 ½ tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup diced white onion
- ⅓ cup chopped matchstick carrots
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
For Gravy:
- 1 cup chicken, vegetable, or beef broth
- 2 ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Place eggs into a medium bowl and beat till combined.
- Add mushrooms, bean sprouts, and soy sauce to the eggs. Set aside.
- In a non-stick skillet, add a tbsp of sesame oil and heat over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, and bell peppers. Cook, while stirring every so often, till vegetables are tender.
- Remove veggies from heat and allow them to cool for a few minutes. Add to the egg mixture and stir.
- Add a little oil (¼-1/2 tsp) to a medium skillet over medium heat. When skillet has warmed start to make the omelettes.
- Use ⅓ cup portions of the egg mixture. Allow it to cook 2-3 minutes, flip, and allow it to cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat this process to use all of the egg mixture.
- Serve over rice with gravy.
For Gravy:
- Place all gravy ingredients in a sauce pan. Whisk and cook over medium heat till the gravy simmer. Allow the gravy to simmer and thicken. Remove from heat and serve with the eggs.
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