· Anna Lee · 9 Comments
RECIPE ▼VIDEO ▼
Egg Foo Young is a Chinese Cantonese dish that takes only 15 minutes to prepare. The secret to making Egg Foo Young tender and smooth is to add all the ingredients after beating the eggs, add some salt, oil, and cornstarch and mix everything well. The oil gives this Chinese omelet a bright color, while the cornstarch makes it tender. This is the tip Chinese restaurants offer to make this dish so delicious.
Egg Foo Young recipe
My recipe uses ground pork and shrimp. You can also use char siu pork, turkey, ground beef, or chicken, or see what you’ve in the fridge to substitute.
The secret to this delicious Chinese omelet is that the ground pork must be fried before it goes into the beaten egg. You can learn more from How To Brown Ground Pork.
The bean sprouts are scalded and cooked without the smell of straw. The shrimp contain a lot of water. They need to be scalded so that the water comes out and then drained. In this way, the Chinese omelet cannot come out of the water or break and you’ll get a successful Chinese omelet.
What is egg foo young?
Egg Foo Young is an authentic Cantonese dish where eggs are fried with Char Siu pork (Chinese BBQ pork) or ham, shrimp, sprouts, leeks, onions, and other ingredients. After the dish was introduced to the United States, it became a dish similar to the Western omelet, served with gravy.
Ingredients
- Shrimp – You can use any size or frozen shrimp. You just need to scald them and drain them so they don’t come out of the water when you fry them with the omelet. This can cause the omelet to break.
- Ground Pork – You can use any kind of meat or ham that you like. To make the Chinese omelet tastier, you should fry the meat in the pan before adding it to the beaten egg.
- Bean sprouts – It’s better to remove the root of bean sprouts, it’s difficult to chew and doesn’t contain nutrients. Uncooked fresh bean sprouts smell like straw. Therefore, it’s best if you scald them and drain them. This method can eliminate the smell.
- Eggs – Fresh eggs.
- Scallions – Washed and chopped.
- Cornstarch – If you add cornstarch, the omelet won’t break easily when cooking. This is the secret used in Chinese restaurants.
Egg Foo Young gravy
The sauce contains soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch, black pepper and fish sauce. It’s my secret recipe to add fish sauce. It gives the sauce more seafood flavor and goes well with the shrimp. If you drizzle it over the omelet, it’ll be even more delicious and tasty.
How to make:
Put soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, water and fish sauce in a pot.
Let it boil and then add cornstarch water to thicken the sauce. Pour it in while stirring and take it off the heat after 1 minute.
Wash the bean sprouts and remove the root.The root of bean sprouts is difficult to chew and doesn't contain nutrients. So it's better to remove them. The nutrients are only at the tip. But if you don't mind, you can leave them.
Prepare a pot of water and let it boil. Add the bean sprouts and drain them on a plate after 1 minute. Set aside.
Add the shrimp to the pot and drain them on a plate after 1 minute. Set aside.
Pan-fry ground pork – Heat the pan over medium heat and add the ground pork. Don't fry the meat immediately, but stir it until the bottom is a brown color. In this way, the meat doesn't come out with water, but sears and smells good.
Whisk the eggs, cornstarch, and a teaspoon of oil in a bowl.
Add the scallions, shrimp and ground pork to the bowl. Mix them well.
Heat the pan over medium heat with the oil then pour in the egg.
Place the bean sprouts on the same side so that the omelet can be easily folded in half. Turn the heat down to low and cover the lid.
Fold half of the eggs into a crescent with a spatula Fold half of the eggs into a crescent with a spatula.
After 1 minute, flip the omelet to the other side and cover the lid for another minute. If it's difficult to flip the omelet, you can take a plate and place it on top of the omelet and then flip the pan with the plate so the omelet keeps its shape.
Other substitutions
- Protein – You can add any protein you like, such as ground beef, chicken, ham, and turkey.
- Vegetables – You can use any vegetables in your refrigerator, such as onions, carrots, and Nappa cabbage.
Watch how to make:
Sauces you will love:
These useful sauces are the flavorful sauces that I always have in the fridge. Make an extra portion of each sauce, put it in a bottle, and freeze it. That way you can cook them whenever you want.
10 Best Chinese Stir Fry Sauces
Beef Gravy
White Sauce (Béchamel)
Alfredo Sauce
Chicken Bone Broth
9 Chicken Stir Fry Sauces
More pork mince recipes:
Learn How To Brown Ground Pork to save time, and money and prepare your meals in 10 minutes.
Chinese Lettuce Wraps
Mapo Tofu (Ground Pork Stir Fry With Tofu)
Ground Pork Stir Fry With Green Beans
Miso Ramen
Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls
NAPA CABBAGE STEW WITH MEATBALL
Egg Foo Young – Chinese Omelette
Prep : 5 minutes minutes
Cook : 10 minutes minutes
Author : Anna Lee
Cuisine : Chinese
5 from 5 votes
Serving : 3
Egg Foo Young (Chinese omelet) is a Chinese Cantonese dish. It takes only 15 minutes to prepare. It's tender, soft and healthy, the best idea for dinner.
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 100 g ground pork ,(or chicken, ham, turkey, beef)
- 100 g shrimp ,peeled and deveined
- 3 scallions or green onions ,sliced
- 2 bowls bean sprouts
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
EGG FOO YOUNG GRAVY:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 200 ml chicken bone broth or water, (Note 1)
GARNISH (OPTIONAL):
- Sesame seeds, sliced green onion
Instructions
PREPARE INGREDIENTS:
Wash the bean sprouts and remove the root. (Note 2)
Peel and devein the shrimp. How to do it, you can refer to Chinese Shrimp With Lobster Sauce.
Prepare a pot of water and let it boil. Add the bean sprouts and drain them on a plate after 1 minute. Set aside. (Note 3)
Add the shrimp to the pot and drain them on a plate after 1 minute. Set aside. (Note 4)
Heat the pan on medium heat and fry the ground pork in it until it's brown and smells good. Don't stir until the bottom is brown. (Note 5)
EGG FOO YOUNG GRAVY:
Put soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, water and fish sauce in a pot. Let it boil and then add cornstarch water to thicken the sauce. Pour it in while stirring and take it off the heat after 1 minute.
CHINESE OMELETTE:
Whisk the eggs, a teaspoon of oil and cornstarch in a bowl and add the scallions, shrimp and ground meat to the bowl. Mix them well with the egg.
Heat the pan over medium heat and pour in the oil. Pour in the egg and add the bean sprouts. Turn the heat down to low and cover the lid. (Note 6)
Fry them until the underside is lightly golden (about 1 1/2 minutes), then fold half of the eggs into a crescent with a spatula.
After 1 minute, flip the omelet to the other side and cover the lid for another minute. (Note 7)
Transfer the omelet to a plate, drizzle with grvey and sprinkle with scallions.
Ready to serve.
Video
Tips & Notes:
- You can use chicken bone broth, chicken stock, or water. Here you’ll learn how to prepare chicken bone broth (more economical than chicken broth).
- The root of bean sprouts is difficult to chew and doesn’t contain nutrients. So it’s better to remove them. The nutrients are only at the tip. If you don’t mind, you can leave them.
- The uncooked fresh bean sprouts smell like straw. It’s best to scald them and drain them so the smell disappears.
- You should scald and drain the shrimp because they contain a lot of water. They won’t come out of the water when you fry them with the omelet if you do. This can cause the omelet to break.
- Don’t fry the meat immediately. In this way, the meat doesn’t come out with water, but sears and smells good.
- Place the bean sprouts on the same side so that the omelet can be easily folded in half.
- If it’s difficult to flip the omelet, you can take a plate and place it on top of the omelet and then flip the pan with the plate so the omelet keeps its shape.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 100g Calories: 246kcal (12%) Carbohydrates: 7g (2%) Protein: 21g (42%) Fat: 14g (22%) Monounsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 339mg (113%) Sodium: 1052mg (46%) Potassium: 293mg (8%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 1g (1%) Vitamin A: 578IU (12%) Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) Calcium: 79mg (8%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keyword: Chinese omelet,Egg Foo Young
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