Egg Foo Young is flavor-packed light and fluffy Chinese omelette loaded with chopped vegetables and shrimp smothered in flavorful tangy brown gravy sauce. One of the easiest breakfast or snacks that everybody would love and tastes better than your Chinese restaurant take-out version.
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What is egg Foo Young?
Egg Foo Young (also spelled as egg foo yong or egg fu yung) is a Chinese-American omelette that is loaded with vegetables and proteins smothered in a tangy brown Chinese gravy sauce. Typically, for protein shrimp or pork is added, and cooked leftover chicken can be added too.
It is believed that a Chinese chef created this dish in America to use the leftovers in his kitchen. This omelette is not a traditional Chinese dish.
The recipe for the omelette is versatile, you can easily customize it according to what is available in your kitchen.
Egg Foo Young Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- ½ pound raw shrimp, shell removed, deveined and chopped
- 3 stalks green onion, white part only, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Egg Foo Young gravy sauce-
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock, or beef stock or use water
Garnish-
- Green onion, green part
- Toasted sesame seeds
Egg Foo Young Recipe
Prep shrimp by removing the shell and devein it. Chop into small bite-size pieces. Note: you can also use cooked leftover shrimp or cooked pork or cooked and shredded chicken in the recipe.
Some recipes use raw shrimp directly whisked in egg and cooked in an omelette. I prefer to partially cook raw shrimp before I add it to the egg mixture, ensuring no raw or undercooked shrimps are in the omelette.
In a bowl mix all gravy ingredients – corn flour, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, white pepper, and stock (I ran out of stock, I used water). Whisk well until it’s lump-free.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook sauce on low heat until sauce bubbles and thickens. Keep stirring frequently. Cook until gravy sauce is thick enough to coat back of the spoon.
Remove gravy sauce from heat and set it aside.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small skillet. Saute the white part of the green onion for 30 seconds. Add minced garlic and stir cook for 10 seconds. Stir chopped shrimp and cook for a few seconds.
Add carrot juliennes and bean sprout and cook for 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
Break eggs into a large bowl. Whisk it with salt and white pepper to taste.
Add in partially cooked shrimp filling, and whisk until combined.
Heat ½ tablespoon vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet or wok. Make sure the pan is very hot before you pour in the egg mixture. Ladle in the egg mixture and using a spatula push the edges to form a round shape.
Cook omelette on medium heat until edges are crispy and browned on one side. Flip and cook on other side.
Transfer egg Foo Young onto serving place. Pour a generous amount of gravy sauce on top. If the gravy is too thick, reheat it on low flame with 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra stock or water until it’s in pourable consistency.
Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Tips to make best egg Foo Young
- Raw protein-protein that doesn’t take too long to cook like shrimp, fish, squid, or tofu(vegetarian option) can be used. Though you can add raw shrimp or fish to the egg mix, I prefer to pre-cook partially first and then add it.
- Cooked protein- pre-cooked protein like leftover chicken (shredded), minced pork, or minced beef works great too.
- Vegetables– use 2 or 3 different types of vegetable of your choice in the omelette to make it filling. Vegetables that cook fast like shredded carrot, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions, mushrooms, and bell peppers can be used.
- Hot pan– to get the best taste, cook it in a hot skillet. Wait for the skillet to be hot before pouring the egg mix. Use a generous amount of oil so edges turn crispy.
- Deep fry – although in this recipe egg Foo Young is pan-fried, it can be deep-fried for better taste.
- Make a meal – Serve it with a generous amount of gravy poured on top with jasmine rice on the side for a complete meal.
FAQS
Yes, you can.
Raw protein-protein that doesn’t take too long to cook like shrimp, fish, squid, or tofu(vegetarian option) can be used. Though you can add raw shrimp or fish to the egg mix, I prefer to pre-cook partially first and then add it.
Cooked protein– pre-cooked protein like leftover chicken (shredded), minced pork, or minced beef works great too.
Yes, you can. Vegetables that cook fast like shredded carrot, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers can be used.
As sauce rests it will thicken as it has corn starch. If the gravy is too thick, reheat it on low flame with 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra stock or water until it’s in pourable consistency.
Though this omelette tastes best served immediately hot, you can store leftovers.
Store leftover omelette and gravy separately. If stored together, the omelette will turn mushy. The omelette will not have crispy edges when stored in the refrigerator.
Also, the gravy sauce will thicken as it rests.
I would suggest you make it fresh and eat it immediately. Freshly cooked omelette tastes best with crispy edges and a soft centre. Once you store the omelette it will not have crispy edges anymore.
To freeze egg Foo Young, store omelette and gravy separately. Separate egg omelette with parchment paper layer and store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Store gravy in air-tight jars and freeze.
From the refrigerator – it’s best to reheat in a skillet over the stove top. Pour some oil into the skillet and reheat to crisp the edges slightly.
Reheat gravy in a saucepan with 1 or 2 tablespoons chicken or beef stock or water until it’s a pourable consistency.
From the freezer – thaw the omelet and gravy in the refrigerator and reheat as mentioned above.
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📋Better-Than-Takeout Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette)
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- ½ pound raw shrimp shell removed, deveined and chopped
- 3 stalks of green onion white part only, sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Egg Foo Young gravy sauce-
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or Chinese cooking wine Shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock or beef stock or use water
Garnish-
- Green onion green part
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prep shrimp by removing the shell and devein it. Chop into small bite-size pieces. Note: you can also use cooked leftover shrimp or cooked pork or cooked and shredded chicken in the recipe.
- Some recipes use raw shrimp directly whisked in egg and cooked in omelette. I prefer to partially cook raw shrimp before I add it to the egg mixture, ensuring no raw or undercooked shrimps are in the omelette.
- In a bowl mix all gravy ingredients – corn flour, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, white pepper and stock. Whisk well until it’s lump-free.
- Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook sauce on low heat until sauce bubbles and thickens. Keep stirring frequently. Cook until gravy sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
- Remove gravy sauce from heat and set it aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small skillet. Sauté the white part of the green onion for 30 seconds. Add minced garlic and stir cook for 10 seconds. Stir chopped shrimp and cook for a few seconds.
- Add carrot juliennes and bean sprout and cook for 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Break eggs into a large bowl. Whisk it with salt and white pepper to taste. Add in partially cooked shrimp filling, and whisk until combined.
- Heat ½ tablespoon vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet or in a wok. Make sure the pan is very hot before you pour in the egg mixture. Ladle in the egg mixture and using a spatula push the edges to form a round shape.
- Cook omelette on medium heat until edges or crispy and browned on one side. Carefully flip and cook on the other side.
- Transfer egg Foo Young onto serving place. Pour a generous amount of gravy sauce on top. If the gravy is too thick, reheat it on low flame with 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra stock or water until it’s in pourable consistency.
- Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes:
Though you can add raw shrimp to the egg mix, I prefer to pre-cook partially first and then add it.
To get the best taste, cook it in a hot skillet. Wait for the skillet to be hot before pouring the egg mix. Use a generous amount of oil so edges turn crispy.
As gravy sauce rests it will thicken. To adjust the consistency of the gravy, reheat it on low flame with 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra stock or water until it’s in pourable consistency.
Serve it with a generous amount of gravy poured on top with jasmine rice on the side for a complete meal.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Jyothi Rajesh is the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail. She lives in Bangalore, India and is the mom of two beautiful kids. Her passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. She’s been blogging since 2007 and many of her recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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