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Shrimp Egg Foo Young

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Shrimp Egg Foo Young

Simply said, Shrimp Egg Foo Young is delicious. The tender egg, succulent shrimp, fragrant onions, and crisp bean sprouts in the savory brown gravy are a crowd-pleaser. If you don’t think it sounds nice, wait till you try it. Our meaning won’t be lost on you!

Instructions for both classic deep-frying and a healthier pan-frying approach are included for the first time. We’ll explain the distinction and let you pick the winner, but we have some comments on both.

Food Reminiscs

In the ’80s and ’90s, when my family ran a Chinese restaurant called Sun Hing, shrimp egg foo young was a top seller. (It’s hard to believe it’s already the year 2023!)

One of our most popular lunch specials was two shrimp egg foo young patties accompanied with pork fried rice. The aromas and flavors brought back so many fond memories as I blogged about this with Sarah and Kaitlin.

Pic Credit: thewoksoflife.com

Egg patties used in restaurant-style egg foo young are deep fried in a wok full of oil, resulting in a dish that is both light and crispy.

In addition to frying General Tso’s Chicken and sweet and sour pork, restaurants often utilize the oil to deep fry other foods. It’s possible to reuse the oil for stir-frying, preventing food waste. Stir-fries benefit from this method of reusing frying oil because of the enhanced taste it imparts. What hasn’t been consumed by day’s end is typically thrown away.

Trying to replicate that restaurant-quality meal at home is a goal for many cooks. It’s possible that reusing the “new” frying oil is to blame. Overall, we don’t think it’s a negative thing at all!

Ingredients

A Note to the Egg Foo Puppies:

  • 10 ounces of shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • (sizeable to massive; coarsely chopped)
  • Salt, 1/8 teaspoon
  • Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon
  • 1-and-a-half teaspoons of cornstarch (divided)
  • 4-6 quarts of flavorless oil (for frying, such as canola or peanut oil)
  • One medium-sized onion (diced)
  • Mung bean sprouts, about 2 cups
  • 6 jumbo eggs’
  • Sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon
  • One little onion (chopped)

Reasons of Gravity:

  • Two Tablespoons of a Flavorless Oil
  • Two Tablespoons of Flour
  • Turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
  • Paprika, 1/2 teaspoon
  • Garlic, one clove (minced)
  • Shallots or red onion, 1 teaspoon (minced)
  • Reduced-sodium chicken stock (about 3 1/4 cups) (divided)
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • Two tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
  • Soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon
  • Sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon
  • White pepper, 1/4 teaspoon
  • 3.0 grams of cornstarch

Instructions:

Shrink like Velvet:

  1. Mix together the shrimp
  2. 18 teaspoon of salt
  3. 14 teaspoon of sugar
  4. 12 teaspoon of cornstarch

Foo Young Gravy with Egg:

  1. Two teaspoons of oil should be heated over medium heat in a medium-sized pot or saucepan. Mix in a roux made from 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of paprika. Prepare for 15-20 seconds.
  2. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Add another 30 seconds of whisking. Add the 3 cups (700 ml) of reduced-sodium chicken stock and whisk to combine.
  3. Cook until the liquid has reduced to a simmer, then stir in the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and other seasonings. Thickening it with roux, the gravy should be just the right consistency.
  4. Make a slurry by mixing the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) of chicken stock. Gently add in the remaining mixture. Keep heating for 30 seconds, or until gravy reaches a consistency where it will coat a spoon. If extra cornstarch slurry is required, add it now. If the gravy is too bland, add extra salt or soy sauce to taste. Wrap it up and put it away.

To Batter the Egg Foo Young:

  1. Prepare 335–350°F (170–175°C) of frying oil in a wok or deep pot. Check the temperature with a digital read or candy thermometer to avoid burning the Egg Foo Young patties or having them become too oily or falling apart. Hold off on mixing the batter until the oil is nearly at the desired temperature. The eggs can be beaten at the last minute to help shape the patties.
  2. Prepare the batter now. Toss the velvet shrimp with the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, the sliced onion, bean sprouts, eggs, sesame oil, scallions, and a mixing bowl. Egg Foo Young patties may fall apart in the frying pan if salt or other seasonings are added to the batter.
  3. Fold the ingredients together until they are barely incorporated, using a big soup ladle or hoak (a Chinese ladle that is sometimes used in conjunction with a Chinese spatula). You want the eggs to seem like they were just just beaten and thrown in with everything else. The mixture will become too liquid and will not form a patty during frying if the eggs are mixed in too early or if they are mixed in too much.

Egg Foo Young Omeletes: Cook them

  1. There will be six patties from this recipe. Ladle in two or three individual servings (approximately 3/4 cup) of the mixture into the wok (depending on how many you can fit in your wok). The proper method involves angling the ladle near to the oil and pouring the mixture into the wok from the point where the oil and wok meet. The ladle should hardly make contact with the oil when it is poured. The egg will cook while still in the ladle if it comes into contact with the hot oil, making it impossible to remove. Your next Egg Foo Young patty won’t fall from the spoon easily.
  2. Keep the oil at 335–350°F (170–175°C) and cook the patties for 2 minutes. You may hasten the frying process by spooning some hot oil over the raw patties with a wok spatula. When the underside of each burger is firm and beginning to turn golden brown, flip it over with a wok spatula in the same order that you placed the patties into the oil.
  3. After an additional minute or two, remove the patties from the pan using a wire strainer or Chinese spider and tap them gently to release any leftover oil. Put a wire rack over a baking sheet and set each patty there to drain. Repeat with the remaining patties.

Serve

Egg foo young patties may be served hot or cold, so there’s no need to reheat them. (They are best served one at a time rather than on a large family plate; however, either method will do as long as you dig in straight immediately!) Pour some of the gravy over the top, and serve with steaming rice and more gravy on the side.

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