If you’ve ever looked up how to make egg foo young at home, you’ve probably noticed the advice is all over the place. Blanch the vegetables or leave them raw? Does seasoning make the patties fall apart? Does cornstarch actually help the texture? I ran three separate tests to find out what actually produces the lightest, crispiest egg foo young patties, and the results were pretty clear.
Egg foo young is one of those old-school Chinese takeout dishes that’s slowly disappearing from restaurant menus. When you can find it, the gravy usually ruins the whole thing. It’s either watery and bland, or thick and pasty from undercooked flour. This recipe fixes both of those problems, and it includes two gravy options: a quick, modern cornstarch-based sauce, and the traditional roux-based version you almost never see anymore.
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Bean sprouts. Use mung bean sprouts and give them a rough chop before mixing them into the batter. Chopping them helps the patties hold a uniform round shape instead of having little pieces sticking out the sides. If you can’t find bean sprouts or don’t like them, shredded cabbage works well as a substitute.
Cornstarch. This does two different things in this recipe. In the egg batter, it helps the patties puff up and stay crispy. In the quick gravy, it thickens the sauce. If you’re making the old-school roux-based gravy instead, you only need the cornstarch for the patties.
Chicken bouillon powder. This goes into the dry seasoning mix that coats the vegetables before the eggs go in. It adds a savory depth that salt alone won’t give you. Lee Kum Kee chicken bouillon powder is what I use.
Oyster sauce. Both gravies get most of their flavor from oyster sauce. It’s what separates a good egg foo young gravy from the watery, flavorless versions you get at most restaurants. If you’re allergic to shellfish, vegetarian oyster sauce is widely available at most Asian grocery stores.
Dark soy sauce. A small amount goes into the gravy for color. Dark soy sauce is thicker, less salty, and much darker than regular light soy sauce. It’s mainly used to give dishes that deep brown color you see in Chinese takeout.
Shaoxing wine. Only used in the old-school roux-based gravy. It adds a layer of flavor the quick version doesn’t have. If you can’t find Shaoxing wine, dry sherry is a reasonable substitute.
All-purpose flour. Only needed if you’re making the roux-based gravy. The key with the flour is cooking the rawness out of it before you add any liquid. If you skip this step or rush it, you end up with that thick, pasty gravy that tastes like raw flour. You’re looking for a blonde or light brown roux that faintly smells like baked bread.
This recipe has three components: the egg patties, the quick gravy, and the old-school gravy. You only need one of the gravies, but I’ve included both so you can try each and decide which you prefer.
Add cornstarch, sugar, salt, white pepper, MSG, and chicken broth to a small pot and whisk until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Then add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce.
Set the pot over medium heat and keep whisking until everything is combined. When the sauce comes up to a simmer, let it thicken for a minute or two until it reaches your preferred consistency, then kill the heat. Whisk in sesame oil at the very end. Sesame oil is a finishing oil here, so adding it off-heat keeps the aroma intact.
Combine chicken broth, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, sugar, white pepper, and MSG in a small bowl. Whisk until everything is incorporated and set it aside.
In a small pot over medium heat, add neutral oil, green onion whites, and a smashed garlic clove. Saute the aromatics until they’re well-browned to infuse the oil with flavor, then remove the scallions and garlic from the pot.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the flour. Whisk the flour into the oil to form a roux and keep whisking so it doesn’t burn. You need to cook the rawness out of the flour, and this is the step most people rush. Not cooking the flour long enough is the main reason you see pasty, flour-tasting gravies. You can tell when the roux is ready either by smell (it should faintly smell of baked bread) or by color (a blonde or light brown shade).
Once the roux is ready, slowly pour in the chicken broth mixture bit by bit while whisking. It will clump up at the beginning, but keep adding the liquid slowly and it will smooth out by the time you’ve added everything.
Bring the gravy up to a light simmer and let it cook for several minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a mesh strainer to catch any remaining flour clumps, then whisk in sesame oil.
Heat neutral oil in a large pot to 350°F. While the oil heats, mix cornstarch, salt, chicken bouillon powder, sugar, and white pepper together in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine roughly chopped bean sprouts, thinly sliced onion, and green onion whites. Add the dry seasoning mixture to the vegetables and toss until they’re evenly coated. Coating the vegetables with the dry seasoning first, before the eggs go in, prevents the spices from clumping together.
Add three eggs, light soy sauce, and sesame oil to the vegetable mixture. Gently fold everything together until the eggs and vegetables are combined. Do not whisk the eggs until they’re smooth and uniform. Just fold them in gently. This keeps the patties light instead of dense.
Using a hoak (a Chinese wok ladle) or a large deep ladle, scoop about half a cup of the mixture and place your utensil against one side of the pot. Slowly raise the ladle away from you, letting the egg gently slide into the oil. This keeps the patties uniform and prevents them from scattering across the pot. Repeat with the remaining mixture. You should have enough for 3 large patties.
Fry the patties for about 3 to 5 minutes on the first side while basting the tops with hot oil using a spoon or small ladle. Basting helps the top of the patties set so they hold together when you flip them.
Flip the patties and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and cooked through. When you take them out, place them smooth-side up on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate. The smooth domed side has fewer crevices, so placing it face-up lets the oil drain from the craggy underside instead of absorbing into them.
To serve, place the patties on a plate, pour the gravy over them, and garnish with thinly sliced green onions.
Fold the eggs in gently. This is one of the most important steps in the whole recipe. If you whisk the eggs until they’re smooth and uniform, the patties come out flat and dense. Gently folding keeps pockets of egg white and yolk that puff up at different rates during frying, and that’s what gives you the light, airy texture you’re looking for.
Fry immediately after mixing. The salt in the seasoning will start pulling water out of the vegetables over time, which makes the batter runny and the patties harder to hold together. Mix the eggs in right before you’re ready to fry and you won’t have any issues.
Use a hoak or deep ladle for the right shape. The domed shape of a hoak naturally forms the patty into that classic rounded shape you see at takeout restaurants. If you don’t have a hoak, any large deep ladle works. You can find hoaks at most Asian grocery stores for just a few dollars.
Watch your oil temperature. Start at 350°F. The temperature will drop when you add the patties, which is fine. You want it hot enough to cook all the way through without burning the outside. If the outside is browning too quickly while the inside is still raw, your oil is too hot.
Drain smooth-side up. The domed side of the patty is smoother with fewer places for oil to collect. The underside is craggier. Draining with the smooth side up lets the oil escape from all those nooks on the bottom instead of absorbing into them.
The oil will foam. That’s normal. Water from the eggs and vegetables causes the oil to foam during frying. It’s not a sign that something’s wrong, but leave some extra room in the pot so it doesn’t bubble over the sides.
Store leftover egg patties and gravy separately in airtight containers. They’ll keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The patties will lose their crispness in the fridge, but you can bring most of it back when you reheat.
For reheating, an air fryer at 350°F for about 4 to 5 minutes works best. It re-crisps the outside without drying out the inside. You can also reheat in a 375°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Warm the gravy separately in a small pot on the stove.
And if you end up with leftover patties, look up the St. Paul sandwich. It’s a regional specialty from St. Louis: white bread, mayonnaise, diced onion, dill pickles, lettuce, and an egg foo young patty. It sounds bizarre, but it’s quite delicious.
Yes. Shredded cabbage is a common substitution, and some restaurants use it as the default. The texture will be slightly different since cabbage holds more structure than bean sprouts, but the patties will still turn out well. You can also mix cabbage and bean sprouts together, or really use whatever combination of vegetables you have on hand. Think of this recipe more as a technique than a set ingredient list.
The foaming comes from water in the eggs and vegetables hitting the hot oil. It’s completely normal for egg foo young and isn’t a sign that anything went wrong. If you want to reduce the foaming, make sure your bean sprouts are as dry as possible before mixing them in. Just leave some headroom in your pot so it doesn’t bubble over the sides.
You can, but the results will be different. Deep-frying is what gives the patties that puffy, crispy exterior that defines takeout-style egg foo young. Pan-frying produces something closer to a flat omelet. If you want to skip the deep-frying, some people have had good results starting the patties on the stove in a small cast iron pan and finishing them in an air fryer.
Usually one of three things: you whisked the eggs too aggressively instead of folding them gently, you blanched the vegetables (which adds moisture and weighs the patties down), or you let the mixture sit too long before frying. The combination of gentle folding, raw vegetables, and frying immediately after mixing produces the lightest, puffiest patties.
