Egg Foo Young Recipe - Better than Takeout! (2024)

FAQs

Is egg foo young healthy takeaway? ›

Is Egg Foo Young healthy? Egg Foo Young is one of the healthiest Chinese takeout meals if made at home! While restaurants tend to cook the omelettes in a LOT of oil, when made at home it's a low fat, high protein, low carb dinner option.

Egg foo young can be served plain, but it's traditionally dressed with a thick, soy-sauce-based gravy. The gravy can be made with a variety of ingredients like chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and a bit of sugar.

The dish originates in the southern Chinese coastal province of Guangdong, which was known as Canton. Most versions which are found today are a Cantonese hybrid both in the United States and Asia.

Serve and enjoy: Plate each egg foo young over a bed of rice. Spoon the warm gravy over the top and serve immediately.

Soy Sauce (Light and Dark)

Although most Western supermarkets carry the condiment labeled "soy sauce," there are actually many types of soy sauce used in China and Japan, generally divided into light and dark varieties. Light soy sauce is thinner and saltier than dark.

Chinese Light soy sauce (shēng chōu, 生抽) is the most common soy sauce in Chinese cooking. If our recipes call for simply, “soy sauce,” this is what we are referring to. The term “light” distinguishes it from Chinese dark soy sauce, which is thicker and darker in color.

Basically, the most common American-Chinese Cantonese sauce (like for beef and broccoli) is almost always Oyster Sauce, Soy sauce, Corn Starch, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, Chicken/Pork/Beef stock and optionally sesame oil. Many people add additional MSG powder to the sauce.

Egg foo young is an omelette dish found in Chinese, Indonesian, British, and Chinese American cuisine. Literally meaning "Hibiscus egg", this dish is prepared with beaten eggs and most often minced ham.

"Its fascination lies in its interspersed layers of soft and well-cooked eggs flavored by freshly chopped shallots and wine," Lo says.

How many days is egg foo young good for? ›

You can keep the leftover egg foo young pancakes in the fridge for up to four days or freeze them for up to four months. I reheat them by popping them in a toaster oven or an air fryer set at 375°F for 5 to 8 minutes or until heated through.

Made with minimal oil, a serving of this egg foo young has 197 calories and is a good source of protein and potassium. The majority of egg foo young's calories are from protein and fat; however the saturated fat content in this dish is minimal. Of the 10 grams of fat, only 2 grams are from saturated fat.

This dish is more commonly seen in Chinese-American cuisine but shows up in other Asian cuisines around the world. Serve it with rice and a rich Chinese gravy for a hearty meal. Despite cooking and baking my way through most of the pandemic, I've craved Chinese food the most this past year.

Ways to reinvent leftovers:

Place a piece of your leftover Egg Foo Young Casserole in a wrap, add a slice of avocado and some salsa, roll it up and you just turned your meal into a Southwest-inspired dish. Pour the leftover sauce on a steamy bed of white rice and dig in!

Steamed Fish and Vegetables

Takeout menus tend to offer a mild-tasting variety of protein-rich white fish, such as sole, and it's paired with mixed vegetables. The veggies add fiber, a key nutrient for digestion and heart health. If you have the chance to choose or add Chinese eggplant as a veggie, go for it.

Neither 'egg foo young' version is optimal for weight loss.

Most restaurant fried rice is full of calories and fat, so it isn't the best choice for weight loss.

Traditionally the egg foo young pancakes are keto because they are made with all keto friendly ingredients. I would avoid egg foo young at a Chinese restaurant, though, because you really never know what ingredients they use. You could talk to the restaurant and ask if they use any flour or cornstarch.