Recipe: Egg Fu Yung with Variations

EGG FU YUNG

1 cup cooked meat or seafood
1 1/2 cups vegetables, raw or blanched
8 eggs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 teaspoons peanut oil
cilantro sprigs for garnish

FOR THE EGG FOO YUNG SAUCE:
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 green onions, chopped

SUGGESTED COMBINATIONS:
- cooked bay shrimp, reconstituted shiitake mushrooms, green bell pepper
- ham, red bell pepper, oyster mushrooms (lightly sauteed), snow peas
- cooked pork, bean sprouts, celery, carrot
- cooked chicken, red bell pepper, bok choy or choy sum, water chestnuts
- crabmeat, snowpeas, carrots, bamboo shoots

Cut the meats and vegetables into small pieces of approximately the same size, diced or julienned. Beat the eggs with the soy sauce, sherry, garlic and white pepper. Stir in the vegetables and meats.

In a 7-inch skillet (preferably non-stick), heat 1 teaspoon peanut oil over medium heat. Pour in 1/4 of the egg mixture. Cook over medium heat until the bottom is browned and the top almost set. Flip the omelette over and quickly brown the other side for just a few seconds. Repeat this process until you have made 4 omelettes. (You may want to use 2 pans.) Tent the cooked omelettes with foil to keep them warm.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
In the same skillet, make the sauce by heating the sesame oil, chicken broth, soy sauce and sherry to boiling. Blend the cornstarch with water, then stir the mixture into the pan. Bring back to boiling and cook for 1 minute, or until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the green onions.

TO SERVE:
Pour a small amount of the sauce over each omelette and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

SERVING SUGGESTION:
A particularly tasty way of serving this dish is to top the cooked omelette with some fresh, crunchy vegetables. For instance, a favorite of mine is to cook julienned ham, red bell pepper, snow peas and mushrooms with the eggs. After the omelettes are cooked, I top them with raw julienned red pepper and fresh bean sprouts, both of which add flavor, color and crunch. The dish is finished off with a bit of the sauce, which adds more color from the green onions, and a few sprigs of cilantro or parsley on the side enhance the overall look.

The simple addition of the colorful, raw vegetables elevates this dish into one with true yin yang balance, an element essential to good Chinese cooking.

Source: alt.cooking-chien/Traci & Jeff Poole/2000