Quick Chinesestyle ‘omelets’ come packed with veggies

The omelet as most Americans know it is a French import. But cooks the world over have combined whipped eggs with cooked ingredients since at least the ancient Persians. And often, “omelets” from other cultures are a lot less fussy than the filled and folded bistro classic.

Take egg foo young, for instance. It may call to mind the deep-fried, heavily sauced egg dish offered in Chinese-American restaurants, but in China, Cantonese cooks use a lot less oil and a lot more crispy vegetables. In this recipe from our book “Cook What You Have,” which draws on pantry staples to assemble easy, weeknight meals, we take the Cantonese path for veggie-packed omelets. It also happens to be a great way to use up leftover vegetables.

We call for cabbage, onion and bell pepper, but bean sprouts, mushrooms and scallions also are good choices; you’ll need a total of about 4 cups of raw vegetables. The vegetables are stir-fried to give them a head start, but are cooked only until crisp-tender. A bit of cornstarch mixed into the eggs helps bind the mixture together to form pancake-sized patties in the skillet.

To boost the protein, stir in some chopped cooked shrimp, pork or chicken. A quick sriracha mayonnaise served alongside makes a spicier, more complex substitution than the soy sauce-heavy gravy normally slathered on egg foo young.

And for a fun twist, make St. Paul sandwiches, a St. Louis favorite. Just slather the Sriracha mayo on white bread, then tuck the omelet, lettuce, tomato and pickles inside.