Guest Post: ToFoo Yung

I am currently enjoying the beautiful state of North Carolina! Since there is not a lot of time to blog, I have another awesome guest post coming your way.

Please welcome Carrie who is not only a vegan and yoga teacher, but an awesome cook as well! Thanks Carrie for sharing this recipe with us, I can’t wait to make it when I get home 🙂

Egg Foo Yung is a typical Chinese American dish that you might find at your local take-out joint.  Basically an omelet filled with veggies, and traditionally deep fried, although many home cooks pan fry their Egg Foo Yung. 

Egg Foo Yung was derived to please Western palates and is based on the more traditional Chinese dish of Fu Yung Egg Slices from Shanghai. 

Egg Foo Yung is one of the few Chinese dishes that does not come cooked in sauce, but rather with a brown sauce or gravy on the side. 

The vegetables in Egg Fu Yung vary greatly but often consist of celery, onions, bamboo shoots, and almost always mung bean sprouts. 

Different from an omelet, in Egg Fu Yung the vegetables are actually combined with the egg before frying rather than folded in the middle.

A batch of freshly sprouted mung beans is actually what lead to the creation of this vegan version of Egg Foo Yung, or ToFoo Yung, if you will! 

I have a huge batch of mung beans that just came out of the sprouter, and I was looking for ways to use them up.  Salads and stir-fry seemed so boring, then it hit me; Egg Foo Yung!

This dish comes together in less than 30 minutes, and is a great BLD (breakfast, lunch, or dinner).  Serve it with a side of stir fried broccoli and garlic for a complete meal.

ToFoo Yung
Serves 2

• ½ block Extra Firm Tofu (pressing is not necessary for this dish)
• ¼ cup diced celery
• ¼ cup diced onion
• ¼ cup shredded cabbage
• ½ cup freshly sprouted mung beans
  **bean sprouts are available in the produce section of
  your grocery store if you do not have sprouter.
• 2 tsp. Tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro for garnish

For Sauce:

• 1 ½ cup mock chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 3 Tbs. Tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 Tbs. agave nectar
• 1 ½ Tbs corn starch
• 4 Tbs. cold water

Dissolve cornstarch in cold water and set aside.  Begin heating 2 Tbs. olive oil in a large skillet (you want your pan and oil to get screaming hot).  In a large bowl add all Foo Yung ingredients (to cilantro), crumbling tofu over veggies.

Using you hands, squish together tofu and veggies, as if you were making a meatloaf.  Add tofu-veggie mixture to screaming hot skillet, then using a wooden spoon press it around the bottom of the skillet to form a thin layer (like and omelet or a pancake). 

Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until bottom of tofu layer is browned.  Using a large spatula flip tofu mixture over (keeping it together as best possible, and pressing any bits that fell apart back together).  Reduce heat to medium and continue to brown on opposite side.

While second side of tofu is browning, in a small sauce pan add stock, tamari and agave and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, re-stir cornstarch mixture and whisk into broth.  Reduce heat and simmer until desired thickness (should be the consistency of gravy).

Again, using a large spatula plate the ToFoo Yung on a dish, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and serve sauce on the side to pour over at the table.

I’d like to finish up by thanking Sarah for letting me guest post for her this week and share this exciting recipe with you. (It was my pleasure, isn’t she amazing?!)

If you liked this recipe visit me at The Happy Vegan Yogini for more great vegan recipes.