Egg foo young

Egg foo young (Chinese: 芙蓉蛋, also spelled egg fooyung, egg foo yong, egg fu yung, or egg furong) is an omelette dish found in American Chinese cuisine. The name comes from the Cantonese language, and may be related to the Fu Yong flower, Hibiscus mutabilis. The dish is associated with Tiki culture, and American Chinese restaurants today often list it as "Polynesian" in their menus.

Preparation

This dish is prepared with beaten eggs and minced ham. From these dishes, creative Chinese chefs in the United States at least as early as the 1930s created a pancake filled with eggs, vegetables, and meat or seafood.

The dish usually appears as a well-folded omelette with the non-egg ingredients embedded in the egg mixture, covered with or served in sauce or gravy. It is readily prepared for take-out and packed in a container.

It may be made with various vegetables such as bean sprouts, celery and water chestnuts. When meat is used as an ingredient, a choice of shredded roast pork, shrimp, shredded chicken, beef or lobster may be offered.

Regional modifications

In a regional variation, many American-Chinese restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri, serve what is called a St. Paul sandwich, which is an egg foo young patty served with mayonnaise, dill pickle and sometimes lettuce and tomato between two slices of white bread.

Comparison

The Vietnamese dish "trứng hấp" is similar to egg foo young.

In Japanese Chinese cuisine, the dish Kani-tama (かに玉 or 蟹玉) is similar, using crab meat instead of ham or other meats.

In popular culture

The American poet Carl Sandburg mentions the dish (which he called "egg foo yong") in his 1936 epic poem "The People, Yes".http://encarta.msn.com/quote_561553266/Civilization_To_the_Chinese_we_have_given_kerosene_.html Accessed February 1, 2008.]

ee also

* List of egg dishes
* Chinese steamed egg

Notes

External links

* [http://www.recipeomnibus.com/page22.htm Recipes at RecipeOmnibus.com]
* [http://www.eggfooyong.com Recipes at EggFooYong.com]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/eggfuyoungwithroaste_89264.shtml BBC Food recipe]