We’ll show you how to fry these fluffy egg patties the traditional way—the way you always had it—and how to pan-fry them with less oil for an easier, healthier option! (Looking for chicken or shrimp egg foo young? We have those recipes too!)
Unlocking the Secrets of Restaurant-Style Egg Foo Young
Egg foo young is a Chinese-American omelet dish with origins in Cantonese cooking and popularized in Chinese restaurants in the United States. Chinese food in America was greatly influenced by Cantonese chefs, who made up the majority of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. We have a recipe for the precursor to egg foo young, a Hong Kong Style Furong Dan, in our cookbook, on page 167. It is a lighter dish, wok-fried with less oil rather than deep-fried, and served with a drizzle of light soy sauce (Sarah created a sauce of her own for the cookbook recipe). In both versions, chefs beat eggs with various filling ingredients, like scallions or onions, bean sprouts, and proteins like shrimp, chicken, and/or roast pork. In the Chinese American version, however, the eggs are deep-fried into fluffy patties, which are served with steamed rice and—here’s the American influence—brown gravy. Today, egg foo young has faded into obscurity, no longer as well-known as it once was. In the days that my father was working as a chef and when my parents had their own restaurant, however, it was very popular among our hungry customers. I would often work in the restaurant on weekends, cooking egg foo young on the line with my father. Owing to its relative obscurity these days, it’s tough for people to figure out how to make this dish at home. Before we published our egg foo young recipes (see our chicken and shrimp versions), readers lamented how their attempts with other recipes just didn’t taste the same. Well, we’ve unlocked the secret on how to cook that restaurant-quality egg foo young you remember! Many have copied our recipe across the internet, but be sure to get our original recipes here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel!
What Kind of Pork Should You Use for Egg Foo Young?
The “roast pork” in pork egg foo young is Chinese BBQ pork, known in Cantonese as char siu. Luckily, char siu is easy to make! Just marinate it overnight, and roast in the oven for 1 hour. It freezes well, so you can take it out and make pork egg foo young or other dishes like pork fried rice whenever you like. Some people may prefer using fresh ground pork or thin slices of velveted pork, and there certainly is nothing wrong with that. In my opinion, though, char siu makes the best pork egg foo young. As one of our most popular recipes, you may have already made our char siu. Next time you make it, make a double batch so you have some leftovers to make other dishes with!
Deep-Frying vs. Pan-frying
Restaurant-style egg foo young is deep-fried in a wok of oil, which makes the egg patties fluffy and crispy. Increase the amount of pork to 12 ounces, since raw pork weighs more than cooked pork (this recipe calls for 8 ounces of cooked char siu). For more guidance, see our post on how to velvet pork for stir-fry. That said, you can also shallow-fry your egg foo young in a skillet or even pan-fry it without the excess oil. The result is more like a regular omelet. For me, the deep fried version is fluffier and tastier, but the pan-fried version isn’t bad either! We have a taste test comparison in this video on our YouTube channel.
A Word on Egg Foo Young Gravy
Gravy is an integral part of the egg foo young experience. I always find myself looking for extra gravy to pour on the patties while I am eating them! We have included the full recipe for making pork egg foo young gravy in this post, but for even more detail, check out our post on egg foo young gravy.
Pork Egg Foo Young Recipe Instructions
Okay, let’s get to the recipe! We have step-by-step photos showing the process below. Scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredients list, nutrition info, etc.
Make the Egg Foo Young Gravy
Since you’ll want to serve the egg foo young hot out of the fryer, we’ll start by making the gravy. In a medium pot or saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux, and cook for 15-20 seconds. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the turmeric and paprika, and then whisk in the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. The gravy will be slightly thickened from the roux, but it needs to be thickened further with a cornstarch slurry. Combine the cornstarch and water until combined, and whisk two-thirds of the mixture into the gravy. Cook for 30 seconds. Add more of the slurry if needed, until the gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add salt to taste. Keep the gravy warm on the stove over low heat while you prepare the egg foo young.
Prepare the Egg Foo Young
In a wok or deep pot, add your frying oil (it should be at a depth of a few inches). Heat the oil to 350°F. The oil temp will lower when you drop the egg foo young in, and the optimal frying temperature is 325°F. Use a thermometer to check and maintain the temperature. Too high, and the patties will burn. Too low, and they’ll be greasy or fall apart. Add the cubed pork to a mixing bowl along with the onions, bean sprouts, eggs, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Do not add any additional salt or seasonings to this mixture. (Salt dissolves the egg proteins, and you risk your egg foo young patties falling apart while frying; let the gravy do its job!) Just before you’re ready to fry, use a large soup ladle or hoak (a Chinese ladle that’s often used together with a Chinese spatula) to fold the mixture together until just combined. The eggs should look like they are slightly beaten, (though you do want to prevent any clumps of egg yolk and white) and only just mixed with the rest of the ingredients. Over-mixing the eggs will cause the whole mixture to become too watery and not form a patty during frying. It’s also very important to mix everything just before frying – do not let the batter sit too long!
Fry the patties
Using your ladle, work quickly to slowly drop two to three separate scoops of the mixture into the oil, starting on the edge of the wok. Each scoop should be about 3/4 cup of the mixture. The correct technique is to tilt your ladle close to the oil, starting from the edge where the oil meets the wok (so the egg has less chance of spreading out). Pour the batter slowly, starting from the edge of the wok and then pouring away from you. The ladle should barely touch the oil. Prolonged contact between the ladle and the oil will cause the egg to cook while it’s in the ladle and stick, and you won’t have a smooth drop for the next patty. Take a break to quickly clean and dry the ladle if you have to. Let each of the patties fry for about 40 seconds. Use your wok spatula to gently pour hot oil on top of each uncooked patty to help them set quicker. When each patty is solid and turning golden brown, flip them. (In the same order that you dropped them into the oil, so they all have roughly the same cooking time.) After another minute, your egg foo young patties should be done. Scoop each patty onto a mesh strainer (first in, first out). Give them a few taps and a gentle squeeze to remove excess oil. Place each patty on a wire rack over a sheet pan to drain. Repeat until all of your patties are cooked.
Serve!
Transfer the pork egg foo young patties to a serving plate along with steamed rice. (Ideally, these are served on individual plates, rather than family-style.) Pour the gravy over the top, add a sprinkling of scallions, and serve with additional gravy on the side. Spread 1-3 tablespoons of oil to the pan (1 tablespoon per patty). Ladle about 3/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each patty. 1-3 patties, depending on the size of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Flip, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining patties.
