Egg Phoo Yong

Phoo Yong (phoo yung, foo yong) literally means "hibiscus egg". It is an omelet-dish that is found in Chinese-Indonesian, Dutch-Indonesian, Chinese-American and British cuisine. It may include vegetables such as bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, sliced cabbage, spring onions, mushrooms, leek, and water chestnuts. If meat is used: minced ham, roast pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, crab or lobster. In Chinese-Indonesian cuisine it is known as fu yung hai, sometimes spelled pu yung hai. During colonial times, it migrated from Indonesia to The Netherlands, where it is known as foe yong hai. The dish is typically served in sweet & sour sauce, with peas and rice.

This is the recipe that Frieda, my mother, used to make for us.

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Bake time: 5-10 minutes per omelet
Makes 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the sauce:
450 grams ( = 16 oz) "hot" tomato ketchup
If you have "regular" ketchup, just add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon of sambal oelek
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
75 grams (about 7 balls) of ginger in syrup, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon of the syrup
pinch of sugar
Corn starch

Ingredients for the omelets:
2 medium size yellow onions, cleaned and finely chopped
1½ teaspoon minced garlic ( = 2 cloves)
150 grams (1/3 lb, about 1/3 of a large stalk) leek, washed, the hard dark green and woody white part discarded, quartered lengthwise, then sliced into 3-4 mm wide ( = 1/8 in.) pieces
Weight is after cleaning
50 grams flat-leaf parsley ( = 1 oz = 3/4 cup), washed, thick stalks removed, finely chopped
Weight is after removing thick stalks
150 grams ( = 1/3 lb) pointed cabbage ( = pointed-head cabbage, sweetheart cabbage, hearted cabbage, hipsi; NL: spitskool; D: Spitzkohl, Filderkraut), external leaves discarded as necessary, shredded
Alternatively: Chinese cabbage (pak choi, bok choy) or white cabbage
1 cube of beef stock/broth, broken into small pieces
1 can ( = 120 grams = 4.5 oz drained weight) of crab meat, drained
100 grams (= 3.5 oz) sliced "boiled" ham, cut into small pieces (about 1x1cm, ½x½ inch)
6 medium size eggs (8 if small)
1½ tablespoons flour (2 if using 8 eggs)
60 ml ( = 1/4 cup) milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for serving:
Rice (e.g., basmati)
Peas

EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

Large bowl
Large frying pan, preferable non-stick
Medium size frying pan (about 20 cm = 8 inch diameter), preferably non-stick
Vegetable oil (for pan-frying the vegetables and omelets), not olive oil!
Hand-mixer
Large ladle
2 large plates (one for turning over the omelets, one for keeping the omelets warm in the oven)
Spatula "flipper" to loosen the omelet from the pan, if necessary

PREPARATION / DIRECTIONS

Instructions for the sauce - make before baking the omelets:
Mix all ingredients, except the corn starch
Bring to slow boil for a couple of minutes
If the sauce is too thin (which should not be the case) then thicken with some corn starch; if too thick, add some water.

Instructions for the omelets:
Turn the oven on, set to 60-80 °C (140-175 °F), no fan
Put the plates on which you will serve the omelets into the oven
Put one of the large plates (for keeping the omelets warm) also into the oven
In a large frying pan, stir-fry the vegetables (cabbage, parsley, leek), garlic, and bouillon cube in some vegetable oil
Cook until the vegetables are done and crisp, almost dry
While the vegetables are cooling off, make the egg batter:
Loosely beat the eggs
Add flour, milk, salt, pepper, salt, and mix until a smooth batter is obtained
Mix in the crab meat and ham
In the medium size frying pan, bake the omelets, using some vegetable oil (not butter) until golden brown on both sides
One full ladle should be enough for one omelet
After putting a ladle of batter into the pan, swing-and-turn the pan to spread the batter
Flip the omelets over, by sliding them onto a large plate and then dropping them upside-down back into the frying pan
Put each omelet onto the large plate in the oven

SERVING & GARNISH SUGGESTIONS

Serve on heated plates (stick them in the oven with the stack of omelets)
Serve the omelets with peas, rice, and the sauce (heated)
The omelets cool off quickly! Put the plates in the oven at