I want to extend the notion of omelets and scrambled eggs beyond their customary forms by including this excellent use of blended eggs cooked in a pan. Once you recognize that you can put more than chives and cheese in eggs, there seems to be little that won’t work this way. Here, meat and vegetables are blended into the mix to create this classic Chinese-American dish.
Eggs generally hold well, so these pancakes can be cooked and kept warm in a low oven for an hour or two without losing any of their deliciousness. (You can even refrigerate them and then microwave them—not perfect, but not bad either!)
This is a deeply satisfying and nourishing dish. I prefer it served over rice to make a more substantial meal, but there’s no reason you couldn’t serve it with the sauce alone. Or you could even make mini pancakes and serve them with the sauce for dipping.
For the Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups homemade or store-bought chicken broth
- 5 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
- 1-2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of the stock and 2 tablespoons of the corn starch to form a slurry for the sauce; while you’re at it, do the same in another bowl with another 3 tablespoons of stock and the remaining 3 tablespoons corn starch and set aside for the eggs.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add a quarter of the scallions, plus the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for 30 or 40 seconds. Add the remaining chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, and wine. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the 2 tablespoons of slurry and cook for a minute or two, until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
For the Egg Pancakes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken or pork, or a mixture of the two, finely chopped or ground
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 8 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
Method
- In a medium bowl, mix the meat, oyster sauce, and soy sauce until they’re uniformly combined. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the meat mixture and stir-fry until the meat is just cooked through. Transfer it to a plate.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they are uniformly mixed and no clear white is visible. Add the salt and the 3-tablespoon slurry to the eggs and whisk to mix. Add the vinegar, wine, sesame oil, carrot, water chestnuts, half of the scallions, and the cooked meat. Mix well to combine.
- Pour about ⅛ inch of vegetable oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When it is hot, use a ⅓-cup measure to scoop the egg mixture into the skillet; make as many as you can fit without allowing them to touch. Fry, turning each egg pancake over when it is slightly brown on the bottom, about 1 minute. Continue cooking until it’s cooked through and set, another minute or so depending on how hot your pan is.
- Transfer the pancakes to a paper towel lined plate as you finish each batch. (If you are holding these to serve later, put them in a 200˚F oven until you’re ready to serve.)
- While you are cooking the eggs, strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve; return it to the pan, and bring it back to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the rest of the scallions.
To Serve
Ingredients
- Steamed Rice
Method
- Serve the pancakes over rice, spooning plenty of sauce over them.
I know that Jacques loves eggs and omelets so I wanted to offer an egg dish, but one that might be less familiar to home cooks: the classic Chinese American Egg Foo Yong, omelet-like egg pancakes garnished with Asian ingredients and a delicious sauce.