Shrimp Egg Foo Young with Brown Gravy
Puffy, golden omelet patties of eggs, chopped shrimp, onion and bean sprouts, deep-fried at 325°F and served over rice under a savory brown gravy made from a turmeric and paprika roux, chicken stock and oyster sauce.
Egg foo young, Wikipedia says, comes from Guangdong, and in Western countries it became a well-folded omelet, often under a sauce or gravy; Chinese chefs in the United States were making a pancake of eggs, vegetables and meat or seafood "at least as early as the 1930s". In St. Louis, many Chinese-American restaurants put an egg foo young patty between two slices of white bread with mayonnaise and dill pickle and call it a St. Paul sandwich.
The Woks of Life's Bill Leung writes that the dish was hugely popular through the 20th century and started to fade in the 1980s and 1990s, though his parents' restaurant, which opened in 1983, still sold plenty; shrimp egg foo young was one of its most-ordered dishes. Today, he says, it is rare even to find it on Chinese takeout menus. His family's version deep-fries the patties so they puff up golden, and he calls the gravy a crucial part of any plate.
Why it works the kitchen science
Barely mixed eggs, gently slid in
Under-mixed egg and a low, careful pour let the patties puff into airy, lacy layers in the oil instead of frying flat and dense.
A roux plus cornstarch
The Woks of Life says the flour roux gives the gravy body and the cornstarch makes it smooth, and the turmeric and paprika give it its golden-brown color.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the gravy: warm the 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, turmeric and paprika and whisk 15 to 20 seconds. Add the garlic and shallot and whisk 30 seconds more.
- Step 2
Whisk in 3 cups of the stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in the oyster sauce, both soy sauces, sesame oil and white pepper. Mix the cornstarch with the last 1/4 cup stock, stir in two-thirds of it and simmer 30 seconds, adding more until the gravy coats a spoon. Season to taste and keep warm.
- Step 3
Heat a few inches of oil in a wok or deep pot to 350°F, then hold it at 325°F with a thermometer.
- Step 4
Only when the oil is nearly ready, combine the shrimp, onion and bean sprouts in a large bowl, add the eggs, sesame oil and cornstarch, and fold with a ladle until just combined; the eggs should be barely mixed.
- Step 5
Ladle about 3/4 cup of batter per patty, tipping the ladle at the edge of the oil so the batter slides in gently. Fry 2 or 3 patties at a time for 40 seconds, then spoon hot oil over the raw tops to set them.
- Step 6
When the bottoms are firm and golden, flip the patties in the order they went in and fry 1 minute more, until puffed, golden and set all the way through (160°F in the center of a thick one), with the shrimp opaque. Drain in a mesh strainer, pressing gently, then on a rack. Repeat.
- Step 7
Serve the patties over rice, ladle the hot gravy over them and sprinkle with scallion.
Shrimp Egg Foo Young with Brown Gravy
Serves 4 · about 8 patties · 1 hr 10 min total
Patties
- 10 oz raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 4 to 6 cups neutral oil (vegetable, canola or peanut), for deep-frying
Gravy
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp minced shallot (or red onion)
- 3 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock, divided
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
To serve
- 1 scallion, chopped
- Steamed rice
Method
- Make the gravy: warm the 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, turmeric and paprika and whisk 15 to 20 seconds. Add the garlic and shallot and whisk 30 seconds more.
- Whisk in 3 cups of the stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in the oyster sauce, both soy sauces, sesame oil and white pepper. Mix the cornstarch with the last 1/4 cup stock, stir in two-thirds of it and simmer 30 seconds, adding more until the gravy coats a spoon. Season to taste and keep warm.
- Heat a few inches of oil in a wok or deep pot to 350°F, then hold it at 325°F with a thermometer.
- Only when the oil is nearly ready, combine the shrimp, onion and bean sprouts in a large bowl, add the eggs, sesame oil and cornstarch, and fold with a ladle until just combined; the eggs should be barely mixed.
- Ladle about 3/4 cup of batter per patty, tipping the ladle at the edge of the oil so the batter slides in gently. Fry 2 or 3 patties at a time for 40 seconds, then spoon hot oil over the raw tops to set them.
- When the bottoms are firm and golden, flip the patties in the order they went in and fry 1 minute more, until puffed, golden and set all the way through (160°F in the center of a thick one), with the shrimp opaque. Drain in a mesh strainer, pressing gently, then on a rack. Repeat.
- Serve the patties over rice, ladle the hot gravy over them and sprinkle with scallion.
Adapted from The Woks of Life (Bill Leung), "Egg Foo Young" (posted March 5, 2025), serves 4: (recipe card:). We use its shrimp option (10 oz raw shrimp, chopped, no precooking) and follow it as written: 1 medium onion, 2 cups bean sprouts, 6 eggs, 1/4 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp cornstarch and 1 scallion; a gravy of a 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp flour roux with turmeric and paprika whisked 15 to 20 seconds, garlic and shallot 30 seconds, 3 1/4 cups low-sodium stock, oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper and a 3 tbsp cornstarch slurry simmered 30 seconds; oil heated to 350°F and held at 325°F; about 3/4 cup batter per patty, 40 seconds before basting the tops, then 1 minute after flipping. The patty count is our estimate, and the 160°F check is ours. The Woks of Life. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- No deep-frying: The Woks of Life pan-fries patties in 1 tbsp oil each over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes, then 1 to 2 minutes after flipping.
- Other fillings: 8 oz cooked char siu or pan-fried tofu, or 10 oz raw chicken, pork or beef that has been marinated and seared first.
- Don't make the batter until the oil is almost hot; the sprouts start to weep.
- The gravy keeps; reheat it just before serving.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Egg foo young is Chinese. Disputed: Wikipedia says it originates in Guangdong but that most current versions, in the US and Asia, are a Cantonese hybrid, and that the stuffed pancake style was made by Chinese chefs in the US by the 1930s.
- It needs brown gravy. Folklore: The Woks of Life calls the gravy crucial; Wikipedia says the Western dish is "often" served with sauce or gravy.
- It is disappearing from menus. Documented as The Woks of Life's observation; we found no menu survey.
- The St. Paul sandwich is from St. Paul. Documented as false by Wikipedia's account: it is a St. Louis dish.
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