shrimp egg foo young

In our household, I tend not to cook shrimp often (my husband's allergic) but when the craving hits, I would usually cook a separate shrimp dish for myself. I remember this dish very well. It was one of my father's favorites that he used to order at a Chinese restaurant he liked. A simple dish with very few ingredients, it's also easy to cook at home. However at the Chinese restaurant, whatever it is they add makes the taste different and more authentic. Somehow those flavors are missing when I cook this at home but I consider that minor and I still like the dish.

Egg foo young or foo yung is a type of Chinese-style omelet usually served with a gravy. This version with shrimp is my favorite. I usually pan fry the shrimp in a little oil until they are half-cooked. They will continue to cook when made into omelets. Transfer them to a colander set on a bowl. Save the drippings for the gravy. Beat the eggs in another bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Add sliced green onions or scallions to the shrimps. Heat up a nonstick pan and sautee some thinly sliced onions. Add the onions to the shrimp mixture and allow to cool slightly. Add the shrimp mixture to the beaten egg. In the same nonstick pan, add about half a cup of the shrimp mixture, brown one side then flip to cook the other side. Transfer to a serving plate and continue to make the rest of the omelets. Make the gravy by combining the shrimp drippings with water, soy sauce (salt may be substituted but the color of the gravy will be lighter), oyster sauce and a teaspoon of cornstarch. Pour into the pan and add more water if mixture is too thick. Pour the gravy on the omelets. Garnish with more sliced scallions.

shrimp egg foo young shown above on top of noodles