Hundred-Year-Old Recipe for Egg Foyung (Egg Foo Young)

I recently was surprised to find several recipes for Asian foods in a hundred-year-old U.S. cookbook. The introduction to the chapter on luncheon and supper dishes in a 1926 cookbook called Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking says:

So many persons have asked for some reliable recipes for Chinese dishes that I have included some favorite ones here. These dishes are unusual and delicious in flavor. The bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and sauces called for may be purchased canned from any grocer who imports.

The cookbook included recipes for Chop Suey, Chinese Rice, Fried Rice, Chow Mien, and Egg Foyung. The cookbook author spelled both the Chow Mein and Egg Foo Young differently than we spell them today. I am not sure if she was uncertain how to spell them and tried to spell the words the way they sounded to her, or whether they are archaic spellings.

I have no idea how authentic the recipes are, but am guessing that they are different from foods actually served in China. In any case, I decided to give the Egg Foyung (Egg Foo Young) a try.

The old recipe calls for many of the same ingredients that modern Egg Foo Young recipes call for (eggs, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, pork or chicken); however, the process for making the dish is a little different from most modern recipes. Many modern recipes call for pouring a soy sauce mixture on egg pancakes (or omelet), while this recipe calls for coating the cooked egg pancakes with a soy-based gravy by putting them in a skillet with the hot gravy, and then flipping to coat the other side.

The verdict: The Egg Foyung (Egg Foo Young) was fun to make and tasty.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Egg Fuyung — Source: Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking (1926)

This recipe makes a lot of Egg Foyung, so I halved the amount of batter that I made, but used the amount of vegetable oil that the original recipe called for to ensure that the oil was an adequate depth. I also made the original amount of the gravy; however, when I started putting the egg pancakes into the gravy to absorb some of the liquid, I quickly ran out of it and had to make more. So, when I updated the recipe, I doubled the ingredients used to make the gravy.

When I halved the batter-portion of the recipe, I used half of an 8-ounce can of sliced water chestnuts and half of an 8-ounce can of bamboo shoots. I refrigerated the extra water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. To use the remaining water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, I made the recipe a second time several days later.

I assumed that “Chinese sauce” referred to soy sauce. I reduced the amount of salt when I made the recipe. It seemed like the old recipe called for too much, especially since the gravy contained substantive salt because of the soy sauce in it.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Egg Foyung (Egg Foo Young)

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/2 cup bamboo shoots (I used half of a 7-ounce can.)

1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts (I used half of a 7-ounce can.)

1/2 cup cooked pork or chicken, cut into thin 2 inch strips (I used pork.)

6 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons corn starch

4 teaspoons water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup broth or water (I used beef broth.)

Step 1. Cut the water chestnuts and bamboo shoots into thin strips. If the bamboo strips are longer than two inches, cut them in half.

Step 2. Put the eggs, water chestnuts strips, bamboo shoot strips, and pork or chicken strips into a mixing bowl; stir to evenly distribute all the ingredients.

Step 3. Put the oil and salt in a large heavy skillet and stir, then heat until hot using medium heat.

Step 4. Drop the egg mixture from a tablespoon into the hot oil. Evenly space the spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan. Cook until the egg mixture thickens, then flip and cook the other side. Remove from pan and put on a warm oven (275° F.) while while making the remaining ones. The egg pancakes will need to be cooked in several batches.

Step 5. Once all the egg pancakes have been made, pour any remaining oil out of the skillet. Turn off heat until the soy gravy is mixed.

Step 6. To make the soy gravy, put the cornstarch in a bowl, add 4 teaspoons water, then stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the 1 cup of broth or water.

Step 7. Reheat skillet using medium heat, then add the gravy mixture. Heat until the mixture thickens, while stirring continuously.

Step 8. Place a few of the egg pancakes in the gravy, then flip, and remove from the skillet. Repeat until all of the pancakes are coated with the gravy. Serve immediately.

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What’s the Most Famous American Dessert?

According to a 1926 Jell-O advertisement, Jell-O is the most famous American dessert. Really? Was that an accurate statement a hundred years ago? . . . or was it the aspirations of a company advertising a product?

I think that the old ad was referring to the U.S. when the it said “America,” but I’m not sure. Maybe it meant North America or all of the Americas.

Based on an informal survey of two people – my husband and myself – the most famous dessert in the U.S. is apple pie. Of course, it could have been something different a hundred years ago (Jell-O????).

Old-Fashioned Macaroni Chicken Salad

Macaroni Chicken Salad in bowl

The season for picnics, reunions, grilling outside, and potlucks is upon us. It is also the season for old-fashioned pasta salads. A hundred-year-old issue of Ladies Home Journal contained a recipe of Macaroni Chicken Salad, and I decided to give it a try.

The Macaroni Chicken Salad differed from many modern pasta salads in that it contained no celery or onion. Instead, the recipe called for a cucumber, as well as for two chopped pimentos (which I interpreted to mean red peppers), in a mayonnaise dressing.

The salad was creamy, colorful, and flavorful. The chopped cucumber added a refreshing crunch, with the chicken providing a slightly savory protein. It would be a perfect side dish at a pot luck or other gathering. It is also lovely as a light lunch or dinner main dish.

Here is the original recipe:

Macaroni Chicken Salad Recipe — Source: Ladies Home Journal (April, 1926)

The original recipe called for one cup of mayonnaise. If this much mayonnaise was used, the salad components would be thickly coated. I wanted a lighter dressing, so used ½ cup of mayonnaise.

I used a boneless chicken breast when making this recipe – though other parts of the chicken (or left-over rotisserie chicken) would also work well. If the water was not salted when making the macaroni (or if the diced chicken did not contain salt), a little salt might enhance the flavor.

I chopped an unpeeled cucumber rather than slicing it.

My sense is that red peppers were smaller a hundred years ago than what they are today, so I used just one red pepper.

I ignored the serving suggestions. I ate this salad for lunch, and it was sufficiently substantive without the addition of brown bread sandwiches. The salad was colorful with just the chopped red pepper and cucumbers, so I did not garnish with julienne strips of red pepper.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Macaroni Chicken Salad

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 cups cold, cooked macaroni (approximately ¾ cup uncooked macaroni)

2 cups cold cooked chicken, coarsely chopped or shredded

1 cucumber, chopped or thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1 medium red pepper

½ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

Put the macaroni, chicken, cucumber, and red pepper in a bowl; stir gently to mix. Add mayonnaise (and, if desired, salt); stir gently to coat the other ingredients.

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Serving Breakfast in Bed a Hundred Years Ago

Woman carrying a tray with food. — Source: The New Winston Cook Book of Guaranteed Recipes (1926)

The only time that I’ve had the luxury of getting breakfast in bed was when my husband and children used to serve me breakfast in bed on Mothers’ Day. A hundred-year-old cookbook suggests serving breakfast in bed to houseguests. I think that any of my friends or relatives who are overnight guests would be shocked if I served them breakfast in bed. Maybe this is one of the things that has changed over the years.

“Grandmother’s” Strawberry Whips

Strawberry Whip on plate

The June, 1926 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine had a Crisco shortening advertisement that contained a recipe for Grandmother’s Strawberry Whips. Apparently Strawberry Whips were considered an old-fashioned dessert a hundred years ago.

These old-fashioned Strawberry Whips are sweet muffins that are filled with a whipped cream and mashed strawberry mixture, and then topped with a whole strawberry. The muffins are a cross between shortcake and cupcakes.

This recipe differs from modern Strawberry Whip recipes. (Usually, modern recipes do not include the “s” at the end of “whip.”) Today Strawberry Whip recipes generally make a creamy whipped dessert that does not contain a muffin or cake.

This recipe is a winner. The old-fashioned Strawberry Whips were fun to make, tasty, and made a lovely presentation.

Here’s the original recipe:

Strawberry Whips on tray

recipe for Strawberry Whips — Source: Good Housekeeping (June, 1926)

The old recipes says it makes 16 muffins. I only got 12 muffins. The muffin cups the recipe author used must have been smaller than the ones in my muffin tin.

It’s often difficult to find pastry flour, so I used all-purpose flour when I made this recipe. It worked fine.

Butter can be substituted for the shortening.

I used a 1-pound box of strawberries when I made this recipe, plus a few extra strawberries to garnish the Whips.

The recipe called for 1 cup whipped cream, which does not seem like enough to fill 12 muffins, so I assumed that the recipe meant 1 cup of whipping cream (which would make 2 cups of whipped cream).

I put paper liners in the muffin cups. After baking, I removed the paper liners prior to filling the muffins.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Strawberry Whips

Servings: approximately 12 muffins
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
Print

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening or butter (softened)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs, slightly beaten

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1-pound strawberries + additional whole medium-sized strawberries to top the Strawberry Whips

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar + 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

Step 2. Cream shortening or butter, sugar, and salt together until light and smooth.

Step 3. Add eggs, milk, and baking powder; mix until smooth. Then add flour; stir until combined. Add vanilla, and stir until evenly distributed.

Step 4. Put the batter in a prepared muffin tin. If desired, line the muffin cups with paper liners. (After baking, remove the paper liners prior to assembling the Strawberry Whips.) Fill each muffin cup 3/4th full.

Step 5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Remove from oven, and allow the muffins to cool.

Step 6. In the meantime, coarsely chop most of the 1-pound of strawberries. (A few medium ones can be reserved for topping the Strawberry Whips. Additional medium strawberries will be needed to get enough strawberries to garnish all the muffins.) Put the chopped strawberries in a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Allow to sit for 15-30 minutes, so that the juice is drawn out of the strawberries, then slightly mash using a fork. Then, drain the strawberries using a strainer.

Step 7. Also, in the meantime, put the heavy cream in a bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form; then sprinkle the 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar on top of the whipped cream and beat a little more to combine the sugar with the whipped cream.

Step 8. To serve, remove the center of the muffins by cutting about 1/2-inch from the edge of each muffin. (Cut about 1/2-inch deep.) Remove the top, then scoop the center out of the muffins. Use care when removing the center, so that the muffin’s shell is not torn.

Step 9. Stir the drained strawberries into the whipped cream.

Step 10. Fill the hollowed-out muffins with the strawberry whipped cream mixture. Heap it up a little so that it nicely tops the muffins. Remove stem and leaves from the medium-sized strawberries, and then press them upside down in the strawberry whipped cream.

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Why Is Mace a Less Popular Spice Than It Once Was?

mace on plate with spice jar People often ask me which hundred-year-old recipes are my personal favorites. Well, one of my favorites is Baked Rhubarb with Orange. I first made that recipe in 2013, and have made it at least once (and often two or three times) each year since then. The recipe calls for mace. I recently needed so buy some more mace in order to make the recipe this year – and I had to go to three stores before I found it.

I was surprised how difficult it was to find mace. It is a commonly used spice in hundred-year-old recipes. Then, I realized that I seldom see it called for in modern recipes, so there may not be much demand for it.

Both nutmeg and mace are made from the seeds of the same tree. Nutmeg is the inner part of the seed, while mace is made from the outer membrane that surrounds the seed. Nutmeg has a warm, nutty flavor, while mace has a delicate, more complex flavor with hints of citrus, cinnamon, and pepper. Mace is more concentrated than nutmeg. Nutmeg can be substituted for mace. Happy Spicy Hour recommends substituting nutmeg for mace at a 2 to 1 ratio. For example, if a recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of mace, use 1 teaspoon nutmeg.

Often when old recipes were tweaked and updated by recipe authors and cooks over the years, nutmeg was substituted for mace. When I made a hundred-year-old recipe for Hermits Cookies, the recipe called for mace. Modern recipes for Hermits generally call for nutmeg.

Baked Rhubarb with Orange in Dish — Baked Rhubarb with Orange

Back to the Baked Rhubarb with Orange — I’m sure that I could have substituted nutmeg for the mace, and would have still loved the recipe; but I’m glad I persevered and found mace. Its bright, delicate flavor works wonderfully when making this delightful dish.

Here are some other hundred-year-old recipes that I’ve made over the years that call for mace:

Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Meringue Pudding

Many fruits and vegetables are available in the dead of winter as a result of amazing modern transportation systems. However, sometimes I get bored with the produce that is available year-round, and crave foods that are available for just a few weeks each year. Rhubarb is one of those foods.

I love the tart, tanginess of rhubarb, and look forward to it each spring. It’s now peak rhubarb season, and I’m enjoying a variety of rhubarb dishes. When I saw a recipe for Rhubarb Pudding with Meringue in a 1926 issue of Good Housekeeping, I immediately knew that I wanted to give it a try.

The Rhubarb Pudding with Meringue was delightful and made a lovely dessert. It is basically a bread pudding topped with stewed rhubarb and meringue.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Rhubarb Meringue Pudding — Source: Good Housekeeping (May, 1926)

Borden advertised in Good Housekeeping, and that company’s evaporated milk is specifically listed in the recipe. When I made the recipe, I used evaporated milk and water, though it would work fine to instead use 2 cups of milk.

The recipe calls for stewed rhubarb. During the years when I was posting my grandmother’s diary entries, I posted an old family recipe for stewed rhubarb. I used a reformatted version of that recipe to make the stewed rhubarb.

The ingredient list calls for “1/2 lemon, grated rind.” The directions are unclear, but I interpreted this to mean that the recipe calls for both the juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon. The recipe directions do not indicate when lemon juice should be added, so I just added it at the same time that I added the lemon rind.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Rhubarb Meringue Pudding

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup evaporated milk + 1 cup water (or use 2 cups milk)

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (tear bread into 1/2-inch pieces)

1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup stewed rhubarb (See recipe below – or use left-over stewed rhubarb made using another recipe)

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Step 2. Put the bread crumbs in a bowl, then stir in the evaporated milk and water (or the milk if that is what is being used). Let soak for 5 – 10 minutes.

Step 3. Add 1/2 cup sugar, slightly beaten egg yolks, butter, salt, grated lemon rind, and lemon juice; stir just enough to evenly disperse the ingredients.

Step 4. Put the bread pudding mixture into a 9-inch by 9-inch (or similar-sized) baking dish.

Step 5. Put in oven and bake until firm in the center and lightly browned (about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes). Remove from oven.

Step 6. In the meantime, make the stewed rhubarb (see recipe below), or use left-over stewed rhubarb made using another recipe.

Step 7. Also, in the meantime, make the meringue. Place egg whites in a bowl, then beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the 1/4 cup of sugar while continuing to beat.

Step 8. Spread the stewed rhubarb on top of the baked bread pudding, then spoon the meringue on top and swirl decoratively. Reduce oven temperature to 325° F. Return dish to oven and cook for an additional 12-15 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Can be served hot or cold.

Stewed Rhubarb

This recipe makes approximately 1 cup of stewed rhubarb.

2 cups rhubarb (cut into 3/4 inch pieces)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Step 1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a saucepan.

Step 2. Using medium heat, heat to boiling, then reduce temperature and simmer until tender (about 5 minutes); stir occasionally. Remove from heat.

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