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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.
Thank you for your version. I am very curious to learn of the authentic version and if it is still referred to Egg Foo Young. Thank you for your time.
Paul
Hi Paul, the version you get in the restaurants are not even egg foo young, and they are not authentic. My recipe is authentic.
I love your recipe. Please tell me if you can just what that “brown sauce” is made from… I’m one of those unhealthy Americans who was brought up with it and I’d like to know what I’ve been eating all these years.
Eric
Brown sauce is basically soy sauce, oyster sauce, water and corn starch.
I make mine from either beef or chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, a bit of chili paste, and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. I happen to like it with gravy. I am not concerned with authenticity at all. I am concerned with what I enjoy. I love sauces and gravies and add them whenever I can.
Hey. We tried this without the pork and was equally awesome. With the ground pork, does it need to be cooked before adding to the omelette mixture?
Thanks!
No need to cook the ground pork first. They will get cooked together.
Bee, thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe. I’m used to the egg foo young from Chinatown restaurants (without gravy) in San Francisco. I’ve moved to Northern California and was shocked when I ordered EFY and got it with gravy. Never had it like that before (I must say I’m not a fan of the gravy). I’ve made your recipe a couple of times (always have to double it because it’s that good!). The flavors blend so well with the pork and chicken. Because of your great recipe, I love, love, love my homemade egg foo young!
Hi Syl, thanks so much for trying my Egg Foo Yong recipe. Yes we don’t need the sauce!
We loved it!! I just made a couple of changes, no shrimp because it was really expensive, and I added some garlic and ginger. Thanks for a great recipe, no gravy required! ?
Awesome so glad you liked the egg foo young.
Cooked it tonight. I semi panfry the prawns, lightly marinated the minced pork and bean sprout separately before adding to the egg mixture. I prefer not to overcook my omelette. Taste yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for trying Jocelyn.
Thank you for this recipe! When I order it from a restaurant, I ask for the gravy on the side; sometimes I dab it on a piece as I eat, and sometimes I throw the whole gravy container in the trash! I also set the egg foo young on several changes of paper towels to blot out as much oil as possible. SO glad to see you only call for 3 Tbs.oil for 3 servings! I even love eating this stuff at room temperature! Great recipe! Making this with roasted pork or fresh crab meat would be spectacular! Thanks, Bee!
Hi Rasa,
Another great recipe, Like others my norm is shrimp, but I plan to make it both ways. The only Chinese place where I am now is definitely not at the same level as places in Honolulu…:( I’ve been showing my family your website. My sister-in-law and I have been trying some of the recipes. You might remember that like you, I love shrimp. Keep those recipes coming…are you going to publish another book?
Bobster
I’ve had char siu, shrimp, and julienned pork with thickened brown gravy and oyster sauce gravy. Ground pork is interesting! Thank you.
This is the Egg Foo Young recipe I have been looking forever for! Growing up in the 60s on the east coast, there was a chinese restaurant my mom would get egg foo young from-gravyless, loaded with meat/seafood and veggies, When we moved west, all the egg foo young was almost flavorless, egg mixture was starchy, filling was minimal, and it was topped with gravy. I was always disappointed. Then I found this recipe. Hits every point of the perfect egg foo young, and every bite is a mini explosion of flavors. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.