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Egg Foo Young is a delicious Chinese-style omelet filled with ground pork and a mix of vegetables. This is an authentic Egg Foo Young recipe, prepared just like it's done in Chinese restaurants.
What Is Egg Foo Young
Egg Foo Young is a Chinese-style omelet filled with ground pork and various vegetables. Sometimes misspelled as “egg foo yung” or “fu yong,” it is a staple in American Chinese food, and its name comes from the Cantonese language.
“Foo Young” or 芙蓉 (fúróng) 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 and the best version of Egg Foo Young
A long time ago, when I first set foot on US soil for higher education, I went straight to middle America. I flew from Malaysia and arrived in the state of Iowa. After touching down, I dined at a Chinese restaurant, and the first dish I ordered was Egg Foo Young.
When the food arrived, I was shocked to find out that the American Chinese rendition was greasy and puffy, with a thick filling of vegetables inside the eggs, and doused in a thick and gloppy brown sauce. The taste was very bland and unappetizing. It was a major culinary culture shock, and alas, that was my first (sad) encounter with American Chinese food.
Difference Between Egg Foo Young And Omelette
Egg Foo Young and omelets differ in ingredients, cooking methods, appearance, texture, and cultural origins.
Egg Foo Young consists of beaten eggs mixed with vegetables including bean sprouts, shredded carrots, mushrooms, onions, and scallions, along with protein like shrimp, pork, and chicken. It’s fried until they puff up and turn golden brown in color, resembling a thick pancake. It’s commonly served with a savory Chinese brown sauce.
Omelets, on the other hand, are made by cooking beaten eggs in a skillet, then folding them over a filling of cheese, vegetables, and preserved meat such as ham. They are thinner in texture and there is no sauce doused on top of regular omelets.
Furthermore, Egg Foo Young is cooked until it is golden brown, with a slightly crispy and puffy exteriors. Omelets are softer, with a moist or creamy interior.
In short, egg foo young is an Americanized version of Chinese-style omelet, similar to shrimp omelet; it’s filled with an assortment of ingredients, seasoned with Chinese seasonings of soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Ingredients
My egg foo young recipe calls for the most basic ingredients as I believe in less is more.
- eggs
- bean sprouts
- ground pork – you want a bit of fat in the ground pork. A good ratio is 80% lean meat and 20% fat.
- shrimp
- Shaoxing wine – you may use Chinese rice wine, Japanese cooking sake, or dry sherry. If you cannot consume alcohol, skip it altogether.
- soy sauce and oyster sauce – two of the most important seasoning sauces in Cantonese cooking.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Egg Foo Young
The cooking process consists of four simple steps below:
Step 1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients to the egg mixture and stir well to combine. Ensure that the oyster sauce is fully dissolved in the egg mixture.
Step 2. Heat a wok or pan on high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is fully heated, ladle the egg mixture into the pan, ensuring that the diameter of the omelet is about 4-5 inches (10cm-12cm) wide.
Step 3. Use a pair of chopsticks to transfer the bean sprouts and other ingredients to the middle of the omelet, making it thicker in the center. Allow the omelet to set for about 3 minutes before flipping it over.
Step 4. Fry the omelet until both sides are golden brown and nicely puffed up. Repeat the process with the remaining egg mixture to make a total of 3 omelets. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Egg Foo Young Gravy
If you are looking for the Americanized egg foo young gravy recipe, please trust me on this: you do not need the brown sauce. If you are wondering if Chinatown egg foo young is healthy for you, it’s not if you have the sodium-laden and starch-heavy gravy.
The brown sauce is made with chicken broth or stock, seasoned with soy sauce, MSG, and thickened with cornstarch slurry. There is no nutrition in it, and all it does is make the eggs soggy, losing their original crisp texture.
My recipe presents this iconic egg dish in the authentic way, and it’s much healthier and more delicious than your Chinese takeout, I assure you.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is 263 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Eggs pair well with steamed rice. For a wholesome Chinese meal at home, I recommend the following recipes to accompany it.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Egg Recipes You Might Like
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 and beat them with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients to the egg mixture and stir well to combine. Ensure that the oyster sauce is fully dissolved in the egg mixture.
- Heat a wok or pan on high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is fully heated, ladle the egg mixture into the pan, ensuring that the diameter of the omelet is about 4-5 inches (10cm-12cm) wide.
- Use a pair of chopsticks to transfer the bean sprouts and other ingredients to the middle of the omelet, making it thicker in the center. Allow the omelet to set for about 3 minutes before flipping it over.
- Fry the omelet until both sides are golden brown and nicely puffed up. Repeat the process with the remaining egg mixture to make a total of 3 omelets. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Notes
- You want a bit of fat in the ground pork. A good ratio is 80% lean meat and 20% fat.
- You may use Chinese rice wine, Japanese cooking sake, or dry sherry. If you cannot consume alcohol, skip it altogether.
- Soy sauce and oyster sauce – two of the most important seasoning sauces in Cantonese cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have to have the recipe for the sauce for egg foo young??? Love that sauce.
thank you
jg
Hello ! Thank you for sharing egg foo young recipe. I tried this and my family was so impressed . Any easy recipes for making banana pancakes ? Thanks and waiting for hear back .
Hi, I lived in Chicago and now live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We have excellent egg foo young in several places here. I usually get the “house” specialty that has both shrimp and pork, and when I make it myself I use both. Actually, I like a good brown gravy on mine but this is the way I learned to eat it in China Town in Chicago. I know which place to buy good egg foo young. Most of the owners of Chinese Rest. here are actually Vietnamese so I make certain I eat at one owned and run by Chinese, it makes a difference. My favorite food is Filipino and I cook an excellent adobo, pansit & lumpia. Thank you for the egg foo young recipe as I am sharing it.
I must take your word for the sorry egg foo young you had in Iowa, but I’ve never had any that had flour or starch in the egg mixture. Seems to me it’s referred to as a “pancake” because the little omelet is shaped like a pancake rather than the traditional omelet Americans are used to. Just eggs with mostly bean sprouts and scallions has been my experience. With, of course, the brown sauce. Americans do love some sauce to put on their rice!
It doesn’t say how to make the gravy, I always have problems with making gravy
My egg foo young doesn’t have any gravy. You don’t need the gravy. This is better without it.
I beg to differ. The brown sauce doesn’t add any taste to the egg foo young, instead it kills the dish. Why don’t you try my egg foo young recipe and tell me that if you indeed need the brown sauce?
Manhattan Elite, you come off as rather rude. You do not speak for all Americans, and to insult the author”s recipe without trying it? I was born and raised in Chicago, and am quite familiar with egg food young – it is one of my favorite dishes – and always specifically order it WITHOUT GRAVY. I HATE THE GRAVY personally. Remember to each his on her own, and why not have an open mind and try new things? And for the record, this recipe is exactly what I was looking for and delicious!!!!
No one speaks for all Americans but there are plenty of us who like a good gravy with our dish. Not the thick starchy flavorless mess but a good thin gravy. Manhattan Elite didn’t come off as rude in my opinion. Fantastic recipe by Rasa but don’t disrespect those of us who love a nice gravy.
Egg foo yung
It’s never left for me. I’ve had bad one and good ones and this recipe looks real good
So don’t say it making a come back when it’s never left
I keep coming back to your Egg Foo Young recipe. It is so easy and tasty.
I have found if I drop the ground meat into the oiled wok for a quick fry to help crumble it just barely, toss in the vegetables, and pour the egg on top. Seems to dent the heat and prevent the eggs from browning too quick.
Sauce? On rare occasion a touch of hoisin, nothing more.
Great that you are enjoying my egg foo young recipe!
I have loved egg fu yong since i was a teenager but never tried to make it. I will be making it this week according to your recipe and I’m sure it will turn out just great.
I am of hispanic origin and cannot get the ingredients i need to make the food of my country here in Greece. So, since I have no problem getting chinese food ingredients here in Greece, I have decided to cook Chinese recipies! I will let you know how the egg fu yong turns out. Thx, GK
Thanks Gloria I hope you like it.
Is there any substitution for shaoxing wine?..I cannot find 1 in AK. Thanks! :)
You can skip it.
Ive always liked a brown gravy made with oyster sauce wit my egg foo yung.