egg foo young like mother made

Thinking about missed food from the past... This could also be in the restaurants forum.

At a Chinese restaurant, when you order egg foo young, you typically get this patty the size of a 1/2 to full pound hamburger that is much like scrambled eggs. And swimming in gravy. And falls apart when touched by a fork or chopsticks.

My Nisei (Japanese by ancestry) mother made it differently.

First they were much smaller, maybe 2 by 3 inches max, and much thinner. So a greater surface to volume ration and more of the egg gets browned.

Then she would place them on a baking pan and put them in the oven for (I think) 15 to 30 minutes or more, getting more dry and toasted. An advantage is you can make them ahead of time, just bake when ready to eat.

Gravy would be on the side, cut a bite of EFY, then dip in gravy and eat (if using a fork). With chopsticks you pick up the whole piece, dip in gravy, eat a bite, then repeat a few more times.

First, does anybody else make EFY like this?

Second, just out of curiosity, does anybody know of a restaurant that sells them like this? One might think for a buffet this would lead to less waste, which would be an advantage. I don't need a restaurant, I have made these myself, its just the cooking process, the mix you start with is the same, modified for your own tastes.

Sounds like a good Food Truck idea.

If that is your preferred style, take a tip from the BBQ lovers and order sauce on the side.

First trial was tasty (I mentioned elsewhere that I thought this could be converted to the "healthy" plant paradox plan), but did not stick together (egg was runny). I think: (1) paper towel dry ingredients before adding to egg, (2) hand wisk eggs, not beat. Also, using the preferred long chain coconut oil added slight flavor, disconcerting at first, but I think I liked it. The expected substitute for bean sprouts was a success. Did not make a gravy, still considering alternatives.