This traditional Chinese vegetable omelet gets a lectin free makeover with pastured eggs, coconut aminos, pea shoots, and a savory lectin free gravy.
Egg foo young is a traditional Chinese dish made with eggs, crunchy bean sprouts and a savory soy gravy thickened with corn starch. It's so good. But honestly, it's a lectin bomb. It's super easy to make lectin free egg foo young as you'll see when you read on.
First, we start with pastured eggs. Chickens allowed to scratch around for bugs and snails in a pasture eat less of their grain feed. Therefore, the amount of lectins in their eggs is greatly reduced. If you can't find pastured eggs, use omega-3 eggs. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and help offset the lectins.
Next, and this is a biggy, we use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Traditionally, the Chinese use soy sauce to make the savory egg foo young gravy. And soy sauce is also used the flavor the egg batter. In my opinion, the sweetness of coconut aminos gives lectin free egg foo young a leg up on taste.
Next, what makes egg foo young hard to resist is the savory soy gravy. To make it, we start with lectin free broth. I use Gundry MD Lectin Free Vegetable Broth. You can get this vegetable bouillon powder at a discount with Ambassador link. The flavor is great and it's full of mushrooms, ginger, leek and turmeric plus other healthy ingredients. Most of all, this broth tastes great! If you have the Gundry MD broth already, or you'd like to get it for this recipe, GREAT! But you can certainly use any lectin free broth to make the savory gravy.
Finally, let's talk about the vegetables. The traditional Chinese dish has bean sprouts. Now, if you've studied up on lectins, you know that sprouts are little baby vegetables. Mama veggie does not want you to eat her babies. Bean sprouts contain some of the highest counts of lectins known to man. Instead, we use pea shoots. What's the difference? Well, pea shoots are microgreens as opposed to sprouts. Once a plant grows that second tier of leaves the lectins are essentially nonexistent. While peas (the legumes/seeds) contain lectins, the shoots do not.
Okay, ready to make this delicious dish? Let's go!
The Recipe
LFG Egg Foo Young
4 Pastured or Omega-3 Eggs
1 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
1/2 tsp White Pepper
4 Green Onions (sliced with tops)
1/4 Cup White Mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 Cup Pea Shoots
Rice Bran and Sesame Oil for Frying
LFG Savory Gravy
1/2 Cup Water + 1 Tbsp (divided)
1/2 Scoop Gundry MD Lectin Free Vegetable Broth
1 Garlic Clove (minced)
1 tsp Coconut Aminos
1 tsp Sweet Potato or Tapioca Starch
Instructions:
Step 1: Make Savory Gravy
First make the broth. In a small saucepan, boil 1 cup water with 1/2 scoop of Gundry MD Lectin Free Vegetable Broth or 1 cup of your favorite lectin free broth.
To the boiling broth, add minced garlic, and coconut aminos. Make a slurry with the remaining 1 Tbsp water and starch. Finally, whisk it into the boiling broth until it thickens into a gravy. Turn heat off and set aside.
Step 2: Make the Egg Foo Young Batter
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with coconut aminos and white pepper. Drop in sliced green onions, sliced mushrooms, and pea shoots.
Step 3: Fry the Egg Foo Young
In a large skillet on medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of rice bran oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Rice bran oil is an approved fat on Dr. Gundry's YES list. It's has a very neutral flavor and high smoke point, and it is excellent for frying. The little bit of sesame oil add great Asian flavor. Once oil is hot, use a 1/4 cup scoop to pour even amounts of egg batter (with veggies) into the hot oil.
Use a pancake turner to keep the egg from spreading. Simply take you pancake turner and fold those "escapees" up and over the center. After about one minute, the egg cake will rise and get very fluffy and brown on the underside. Flip the egg foo young and cook the other side to a golden brown. Repeat until you have cooked all the batter. It makes about 4 egg cakes. If you have a large enough skillet, you can do all four at once.
To serve, plate the egg foo young cakes onto a family platter. Pour the savory gravy over the egg foo young. And garnish with more pea shoots.
Enjoy!